Roger Federer’s bid for a fifth Australian Open crown remains right on track after defeating Gregor Dimitrov in the third round on Friday. The 17-time Grand Slam champion will look to book a place in the quarterfinals this coming Sunday when he takes on the ever-dangerous David Goffin at Rod Laver Arena.
Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this round-of-16 clash. If you’re looking for other sports action, you can check out our NFL Conference Championship previews of New England vs. Denver and Arizona vs. Carolina.
Roger Federer barged into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a gritty 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Grigor Dimitrov on Rod Laver Arena on Friday. It was a fantastic performance from the Swiss maestro who needed two hours and 40 minutes to record the four-set win.
[sc:AUS15-250 ]Federer, who improved to 5-0 against Dimitrov, recorded 48 winners and won 75 percent of his first serve points. What proved to be the difference in the contest, though, was his exquisite return. Federer won 40 percent of his receiving points against the Bulgarian with the World No. 3 converting four of his 15 break point opportunities.
Next up for Federer is a round-of-16 clash with David Goffin. The 34-year-old will fancy his chances against the 15th-seeded Belgian as he has won all three of his previous matches against Goffin. Federer won their most recent meeting in the quarterfinals of the Basel tournament last year, beating Goffin in three sets, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
For Federer to extend his dominance against Goffin, he needs to bring his aggressive style and continue his strong net play in the fourth round. He won 29 of his 40 net points against Dimitrov in the third round. Federer has won 72 percent of his total net points in the entire tournament thus far.
David Goffin booked a place in the fourth round of the Australian Open with an impressive 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 win over Dominic Thiem on Friday. This is the first time in his career that Goffin has reached the round of 16 in Melbourne. Things are bound to get tougher, though, for the Belgian as he will next face the four-time Australian Open champion Roger Federer.
For Goffin to grab the massive upset, he will need to continue his excellent play on the receiving end. He won 40 percent of his receiving points against Thiem with Goffin converting six of his 12 break point chances. Goffin will also take heart in the fact that he’s hitting it beautifully from the baseline in this year’s event. He’s averaging 31.3 winners per match in this tournament thus far.
That being said, Goffin has to be aggressive right from the get-go for him to stand a chance against the 17-time Grand Slam champion. He will need to put pressure on the Swiss star and he can do that by employing his highly-effective net play. He won 16 of his 26 net points in the previous round against Thiem. For the tournament, Goffin has won 60 percent (39-of-65) of his total net points.
