Federer gets past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Just about.

The starry night of Melbourne is always a sight to behold. Roger Federer at the Rod Laver arena is always a spectacle. Put the two together and one gets the sense of occasion on an Aussie Open quarterfinal night. His opponent – the indomitable, eccentric and flashy Frenchman, Jo Wilfred Tsonga. The prize at stake for the winner: a semi final matchup against reigning US Open champion, Andy Murray.

Federer started the stronger of the two but Jo soon caught on and stretched it to a tie-break which Roger eventually won 7-4. The second was Tsonga’s six games to four, and the match had all the makings of a classic. The third set went to a  tie break as well and once again, it was Federer who came up trumps, winning it again by seven points to four.

At this stage, most felt that the momentum was with the number two seed and given Tsonga’s wayward past, smart money might have been on Federer winning in four. This, however, was not to be. Tsonga roared out in what was to be the penultimate set to win it 6-3. Tsonga was down 0-40 on his serve in the fourth, but rallied to take the game and eventually the set.

The match went into a fifth. Here again, the two traded shots, fist pumps and challenges. Federer broke crucially very early on in the fifth at 1-2 on Tsonga’s serve. He then held serve routinely to close it out. He did have more match points when Tsonga served 2-5 but the Frenchman served big when it mattered to make sure that Federer needed to serve to close out the match.

The win was nowhere near being a straightforward affair for Federer. He was quite off his game, and when one says that, one means that he was not at that pinnacle of perfection that he seems to play so often at. Shots were laboured, serves were not hitting the mark. Federer is never one to overpower his opponents; he uses it instead and turns it into his advantage by cleverly manipulating it. Any time that he is even slightly off his game, something does not quite add up. He still plays at a level that is superior to most but then again, it is not quite Federer, is it?

As the match progressed, however, he began to get into his zone. But even then, the zone simply did not last more than a few points at a time. He was untouchable for a game or one and a half; he was then suddenly merely mortal in the next. Credit where it is due, though. Tsonga played a phenomenal game and often quite simply overpowered Federer. As the match progressed into the fifth, apart from just his skill, the most important experience of a fifth set at this big a stage in this big a tournament was what held him in good stead.

Roger Federer came through in the end. However, only just. He now meets his conqueror in the Olympics, Andy Murray. To beat him, however, he must play better than he did today. Much better.