Roger Federer is looking forward to renewing his rivalry with Richard Gasquet after staging a superb rally last night to beat Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-3 and follow top seed Novak Djokovic into the last eight.
Federer, a six-time champion here, was down 1-4 in the first set when he staged a stunning rally, winning 20 points on the trot to take the next five games.
In the second set, after an early exchange of serves, the Swiss broke Verdasco twice again, in the fifth game and ninth, to complete a great day for the top three seeds – each one of them won their match inside an hour.
“I didn’t even know it happened until somebody told me afterwards,” Federer said about his remarkable 20-point streak. “All I cared about was trying to stay ahead in the score, focus point for point, serve for serve.
“Looking back, it’s quite a lot of points in a row. It’s not the first time it’s ever happened to me, but it’s a great comeback because I did feel that Fernando was hitting the ball well and came out and played very committed, serving well.”
Next up for the defending champion is Frenchman Gasquet, whose latest meeting with Federer was in the final of the Davis Cup last year, where the Swiss won in straight sets. Overall, Federer holds a 13-2 head-to-head record.
“Last time we played was Davis Cup final on that Sunday in front of that big crowd, and it was a lot of pressure,” Federer said. “I think this time is going to be a bit more relaxed going in. He’s had a great start to the season, also, winning a title and seems like he’s playing well.
“I just love his backhand so it’s always a pleasure playing against him.”
Earlier, world No 1 Djokovic, after a night of revelry at the players’ party, made Kazakh Andrey Golubev dance to his tune in a 6-1, 6-2 win.
“Having one match under my belt before today’s encounter helped to feel a bit more comfortable to move around on the court quicker, and I tried to take away the time from my opponent,” Djokovic said after reigning supreme in the 60-minute mismatch. “I know he, especially with these slower surfaces, likes to have time. So I tried to be aggressive, step in.
“He tried to mix up the pace. He was doing well, changing up the rhythm with slice and some high balls.
“All in all, it was just a much better performance than yesterday. Hopefully I can improve as the tournament progresses.”
In his first-round clash on Tuesday night, the reigning Australian Open champion was kept on the court for 78 minutes by Canadian by Vasek Pospisil and that delayed his arrival at the players’ party, but failed to dampen the Serb’s spirits.
“Must have been something about last night that has influenced my performance today – that’s for sure,” Djokovic said. “It was a lot of dancing.
“I saw most of the players leave when I arrived, because I finished the match late. So I arrived around 10.30 and I thought we were in for a short night, but it was completely something different and I enjoyed it very much.
“I thought, why not have fun? Didn’t stay too late. I don’t know if 1am is a bit late. Well, my coach [Boris Becker] was there with me, so he definitely approved everything.
“Boris showed some very flexible, very agile moves on the dance floor with hip-hop, with his hips that are replaced last couple of years, and then with his ankles. Looks like a young guy on the floor.”
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