Roger Federer’s quest for a fifth Australian Open championship lives on after demolishing Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili in the opening round. Federer will look to replicate his performance and take care of business once more when he collides with World No. 35 Alexandr Dolgopolov. Can the 17-time Grand Slam champion impose his will in this one? Read on below for a closer look at this bout.
[sc:AUS15-250 ]At the age of 34, Roger Federer continues to defy Father Time. He quickly went into beast mode once he stepped foot on the hard court of Melbourne Park, beating his first round opponent Nikoloz Basilashvili in convincing fashion (6-2, 6-1, 6-2) and in under just 72 minutes of play. Federer displayed almost his entire repertoire in this one.
The World No. 3 dazzled the crowd by blasting 31 winners and winning 92 percent of his first serve points despite committing 20 unforced errors. He also displayed his excellent return game by breaking the Georgian’s serve eight times in the match. Federer, however, also had his serve broken once.
Up next for Federer is an intriguing encounter with a familiar foe and friend in the form of Alexandr Dolgopolov. The two stars have played against one another twice in their respective careers and Federer has emerged triumphant in both.
In order for Federer to continue his dominance, he ought to remain faithful to his all-around game by showcasing his full arsenal of shots against an inconsistent and error-prone player like Dolgopolov. As long as Federer keeps doing that, he’ll eventually power his way to another resounding win.
Unlike Federer, Alexandr Dolgopolov needed a lot more than 72 minutes play to finally dispose his first-round opponent Ricardas Berankis after four grinding sets (6-1, 3-6, 6-4, and 6-2). The game-changer in that contest was undoubtedly Dolgopolov’s brute strength and efficient service game.
The 27-year-old Ukrainian fired 10 aces and won 82 percent of his first serve points while his opponent converted just five and 54 percent in those departments. But apart from the positives, Dolgopolov just managed to break Berankis’ serve seven times out of 17 opportunities (41%), had eight double faults and garnered 39 unforced errors. There will be very little room for mistakes and inefficiencies when he goes toe-to-toe with a former World No. 1 player like Federer.
Also, a little bit of patience and perseverance would be very helpful to his cause especially with Federer likely to go off on another sizzling start. If Dolgopolov is able to do so and be at his best form for at least the most part of the match, an upset could be looming around the corner.
Writer’s Prediction
Federer (-1400) gets the entertaining 6-2, 6-4,7-5 win.
