Roger Federer reached his third successive Brisbane International final Saturday when he crushed Dominic Thiem in a lopsided semi-final.
Federer took just 60 minutes to down the eighth-seeded Austrian 6-1, 6-4 and said afterwards it was the best he had played all week.
“I’m getting used to conditions, which is usually the case after a couple of matches,” he said.
“You understand the speeds more and you’re more comfortable. Plus I’m definitely also feeling a bit better now.
“I was very pleased with how I played. I think it was the best match of the week so far, or most consistent maybe.”
The first set lasted just 22 minutes as a shell-shocked Thiem struggled to match the 17-time Grand Slam champion on Pat Rafter Arena.
Thiem, 22, settled into the match in the second set and took the fight to his 34-year-old opponent, but a lapse in the seventh game saw him drop his serve and Federer easily held on to book a place in the final.
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Federer lost to Lleyton Hewitt in the 2014 title-decider and beat Canadian Milos Raonic to win the title last year.
Sunday’s final will be a rematch of 2015 after the huge-serving Raonic edged local hero Bernard Tomic in two close sets.
“I played some tough matches (against him) in the last 16 months or so,” Federer said of Raonic.
“I thought he played really well against me here and Indian Wells last year.
“So he’s been looking good. Clearly with a serve like that things are always complicated.”
The big-serving Raonic hit 13 aces on his way to a 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/5) win in one hour, 47 minutes. Tomic had his chances against Raonic, and had four break points in the fifth game of the first set.
But Raonic served his way out of danger and neither man was troubled on his own serve thereafter.
With such a huge serve Raonic was always favoured in the tie-breaks and he opened a 5-1 lead on both occasions. Tomic fought back to 5-5 twice but in the end Raonic closed out the match with a lunging backhand volley.
Raonic pushed Federer in three close sets in 2015 and although he said he was playing better now than 12 months ago, he conceded facing the Swiss great was always difficult.
“He can do a lot of things differently,” Raonic said. “You know what you want to do against him and what you should do (but) he can just make this part difficult for you.
“Each time he can come out playing in different ways and he’s able to do a lot of different things.
“But what I need to do is very clear for myself. So that’s what I’m going to strive for and try to play it on my terms as much as possible, rather than his.”
Azarenka marches on
Victoria Azarenka displayed the kind of form that could lead her to a hat-trick of Australian Open titles later this month by brushing aside German fourth seed Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-1 in the Brisbane International final on Saturday.
The former world No 1 has been plagued by injury over the last two years but the world No 22 showed little sign of rust this week on her way to a second Brisbane crown.
The Belarusian dropped only 17 games over five matches during the tournament and claimed her first title since the Cincinnati Masters in August 2013.
Azarenka, 26, won her maiden Brisbane title in 2009, and took control of the match against world No 10 Kerber after an early trade of breaks in the first set and then peppered the court with her powerful groundstrokes.
Kerber, the highest seed left after the withdrawals of Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep and Garbine Muguruza, had three break points in the opening game of the second set but once Azarenka fended them off, she did not look back.
Azarenka won back-to-back Australian Open titles from 2012 and has reached the US Open final twice, losing both to world number one Serena Williams.
Kyrgios leads Australia to Hopman Cup
Australians Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina and Alexandr Dolgopolov to win the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth.
For the first time, the host nation fielded two teams in the tournament, and Kyrgios and Gavrilova went through the week unbeaten as Australia Green, culminating in their 2-0 win over Ukraine to give Australia their second Hopman Cup title.
Both players won their singles matches in the final in straight sets, with the mixed doubles not being played.
For both Australians, who have known each other for several years, it was a milestone tournament win.
Kyrgios collected his first senior ITF tournament title just four months after he was dumped from the Davis Cup team for the semi-final against Great Britain.
Gavrilova was representing her adopted country for the first time, having been naturalised last month.
“It means a lot, it is my first real title to have won,” Kyrgios said.
“It is the perfect way to start the year, I haven’t lost a match yet and I am riding a lot of confidence into the Australian summer.
“I have known Dasha for a long time and it is pretty special.”
Stephens triumphs in Auckland
Sloane Stephens claimed her second WTA tour title when she beat Germany’s Julia Goerges 7-5, 6-2 in the Auckland Classic final on Saturday.
Stephens, ranked 30th in the world after being as high as 11, capitalised on a string of unforced errors by Goerges to break her serve at 5-5 in the first set.
She broke twice more in the second set at 1-1 and 4-2 before serving to wrap up the final in 77 minutes.
It capped an arduous five-and-a-half hours for the 22-year-old American who began the day having to complete her rain interrupted semi-final against former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki.
That match resumed with Stephens up 5-2 in the first and she went on to win 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) before going on to claim her second title after winning in Washington last year.
Although she showed no sign of fatigue in overpowering Goerges in straight sets, Stephens could feel the effects of her marathon day.
“Finally, I’m done,” she said after winning.
“It feels amazing. To win a tournament is unbelievable.
“I’ve played some really tough players, and to play this morning and come back to play the final is something I’ve never done, so I was really pleased with the way I was able to pull myself together and win.”
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