Roger Federer needed a strategic bathroom break to get back on track in a dazzling contest with Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open here -- recovering from a set, 3-1 and 15-40 down to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 7-5.
Apart from the magic he displayed on court to turn the match inside out, nothing pleased Federer more than building on his quite phenomenal record in Grand Slams. With this win the Swiss has now reached at least the semifinal of 23 consecutive Slams. It’s a record that may well stand for as long as the game is played. Injuries alone will strike down so many contenders, let alone the skill required to achieve it.
The longevity of his achievement was preying on Federer’s mind. “For some reason, I was just a bit worried I was not going to make it this time,” he admitted afterward. “You always believe the streak is going to be broken. I stopped thinking about it after the second round. It helps once the tournament starts. You focus match for match, point for point so I forget about the record. Now obviously that it’s safe again, it’s amazing. Definitely one of the most incredible things I have on my resume.”
Federer also admitted that the bathroom break he took at the end of the first set was a bit of a ploy. “We are allowed two so I decided it was a good moment to take one,” he said, while also insisting that he “needed to go.”
But it had everything to do with the position of the sun. “It was just tough to play,” he explained. “For both players, you know. When the sun comes from the side, you get the feeling, obviously, that one side’s in the sun and other is in the shade. The ball seems half the size and is just hard to hit. Then there was a bit of a breeze and he was playing terrific.”
So, as Federer sauntered back from the locker room, he was giving the sun time to shift. Suddenly things became easier -- so much easier, in fact, that a match which Davydenko seemed to have in his pocket was suddenly snatched away from him and the world No. 1 went on a nine-game roll that left the little Russian looking dazed and forlorn.
“I cannot explain what’s happen,” said Davydenko in English that is always less fluent than his tennis. “At the start he play short and I have always chance to make my game. Then he start to play longer, faster and he pushing me back and I start to lose my power. Then everything.”
Davydenko did re-discover something toward the end of the fourth set, battling back to 5-5 when Federer served for the match but it was a temporary reprieve. He broke the Russian again immediately and made no mistake at the second time of asking.
Federer reflected on a remarkable match with his usual air of detachment. “At the start he hit so hard from the baseline and so flat it’s hard to look for too many angles. We had many, many forced errors.”
But Federer liked the fact that he had been able to turn it around so quickly and win so many games in a row. “Against a player that’s been on fire like this, it’s a great sign,” he said. “I’ve always had those spells, if you look back at my Grand Slam play -- all of a sudden I go on a tear and I was able to sort of dominate and create the difference this way.”
It is a special gift. But Federer is a special player.
But the drama didn’t end there. In a reversal of the final they played against each other here two years ago, Jo Wilfried Tsonga defeated Novak Djokovic 7-6, 6-7, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 just after midnight to set up a semifinal against Federer. It was a match of many twists and turns and ultimate heartbreak for Djokovic, who seemed to be heading for a convincing victory when he took a two sets to one lead. Then the Serb, who has suffered from breathing problems in the past, had to leave the court hurriedly, saying he was about to throw up.
On his return after a short break, all the power had drained from his game and Tsonga was able to sweep through the fourth set. Apparently feeling better, Djokovic did his best to make a fight of it in the fifth but the Frenchman, a charismatic figure who had plenty of support from the crowd, was able to keep him at bay despite making a few poor shot-making decisions, such as trying to pass when he might have lobbed and staying back once or twice too often when his path to victory clearly lay at the net.
Naturally, Djokovic was dejected afterward. “I would like to congratulate Jo on a great match,” he said. “I don’t want to make excuses but in the fourth and fifth sets I couldn’t perform at the level I wanted. At the end of the third I had a terrible feeling and I had to go to the toilet or I would have thrown up on court. Afterwards I felt it in my legs. When you lose a lot of fluids, the engine stops working. It is very disappointing because I had been feeling well and playing well and thought I could win.”
