Federer knocks the sails off Tomic; Raonic lines up next

His path may be strewn with thorns, but Roger Federer is a genius accustomed to gliding around the rectangle as if he were a swan in a still water lake. The sharp end of the prick might pinch but there is never enough surface tension under the mesmerising feet of the Swiss artist for the thorn to halt his serene dance with destiny. Unperturbed by all the brouhaha about the much anticipated encounter against the belligerent Bernard Tomic, the Swiss seized control early and stayed in command throughout to score an emphatic 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-1 victory just inside two hours to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open and also register a momentous 250th match victory in Grand Slam tournaments.

In what was the fourth career meeting between the two, much was anticipated of the talented Tomic. The young man had a rousing start to the year, winning all ten of his matches heading into this one – including one over Novak Djokovic and a maiden ATP title. He had only taken a set off Federer in their three previous meetings, but excited by a brilliant start Tomic felt assured enough to trumpet his chances against the peerless Swiss. With so much talk ahead of the contest about the possibilities – one was reminded of the classic encounter between Federer and Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2001, when the yet-to-arrive version of the Swiss masterpiece handed the reigning emperor of the time a memorable defeat to declare his credentials. The ingredients in this third round encounter made for a match pregnant with possibilities.

Federer knew his fortress was under attack, so he wasted no time in taking charge of the situation. A forehand cross court winner struck with delicious symmetry served to remind the expectant crowd that the Swiss was alert to the danger. A down the line winner off the same flank earned the world No. 2 the first break point of the match. The pressure turned Tomic’s arm heavy and an eager attempt to ease the situation with a forehand down the line winner wound its way tamely into the net to leave the Aussie on the backfoot straight off the bat. Federer held to love just to underline his intent, consolidating with an ace to take a 2-0 lead.

The Aussie has clearly worked on his serve, and when he knocked away a couple of service winners and an ace to hold confidently for the seventh game, it was his first real moment to cherish in the contest. Riding the crest, Tomic even managed to reel back Federer from 40-0 in the next game to force deuce, helped in no mean measure by a double fault from the Swiss. But Federer bailed himself from the tricky situation with a forehand winner from the net followed by a cleverly placed forehand cross court winner to hold serve and retain the edge. Tomic managed to hold off a severe challenge from Federer in the ninth game, when the Swiss sought to close out the set. But that did not prevent the Swiss from sealing the set on his serve with a couple of service winners.

Tomic drove himself into a tight spot immediately at the beginning of the second set – doling out a double fault start and a break point to Federer. But the eager Swiss baked his backhand too brown to spill the opportunity. Having escaped certain prison, Tomic played with renewed confidence to match his illustrious opponent, aided also probably by a calmer set of nerves. The ninth game proved to be yet another severe test for the 20-year-old. It is customary for Federer to step up a gear in the dying games of a set and Tomic assisted the agenda by striking a couple of ill-timed forehand strokes to fall to 15-40. Faced with virtual set points, Tomic showed remarkable composure and presence – serving to the backhand of the Swiss, he dictated brief rallies before taking the points with winners off either flank to thwart Federer’s crafty design. Eventually, the 14 point marathon ended when Federer sailed a forehand long to find himself serving to stay in the set. Not that the Swiss wasn’t up to the challenge and soon the set slipped into a tie-breaker.

It looked as though the Aussie was ready to sink his teeth into the match, when he raced away to a 4-1 lead in the breaker. At 5-2, Rod Laver Arena was awash with the excitement of watching the local hero take a set off Federer only for the second time in their short rivalry. But Federer is a seasoned campaigner when the going gets tight, especially against the lesser men. The Swiss clawed his way back to draw level at 5-5 before clinching an insurmountable two set lead with considerable help from his opponent. Tomic over-cooked one on each flank to surrender the second set.

By now, Federer had dealt effectively with the best Tomic could throw at him. The young man’s game was no riddle for the formidable maestro and the 31-year-old nipped his opponent’s blooming spirit right in the bud by overcoming a period of stiff resistance during that second set. The first game of the third set saw an unlikely sequence of events, with Federer throwing away two straight game points with uncharacteristic double faults. Fortunately for the Swiss, he recovered from that brief lapse in concentration without damage. In fact, Federer capitalised on the flagging spirit of his opponent to quickly jump ahead 3-0 in the third set, despite the brief moment of ineptitude in the first game.

A thumping forehand down the line winner in the sixth game shut the door on an already beleaguered Aussie as Federer raced to within a game of his duly appointed spot in the fourth round. Federer grabbed at it with a final flourish of emphatic brilliance with the help of a couple of aces that must have snuffed out any remaining joy in the Tomic heart. It was a majestic master class from a seasoned master that had seen them pretenders arrive at his fortress in typical exuberance, only to depart with a humbling lesson in their ripped bags.

Federer was polite in his post match assessment, “obviously, the result is something I was hoping for, but not sure going into it,” Federer said. “So I’m just really pleased that the outcome is what I was hoping for. I thought I played really good today.” The chastened Aussie admitted he was wiser for the experience, “He is the greatest our sport’s ever had,” Tomic said. “You learn something every time you watch him. It’s going to make me a better player.” Watch, he did on the night, from his vantage position across the net. Only time can tell if he has indeed learnt from it.

Meanwhile, this is bound to be a testing fortnight for Federer, another severe test awaits in the form of the big serving Canadian Milos Raonic in the fourth round. The Swiss takes pride in his longevity and consistency and he would like nothing but another victory to reach his 35th consecutive quarter-finals in a Grand Slam tournament.