Roger Federer sent out a chilling warning to his title rivals with a straight-sets demolition of Andre Agassi to charge into the semifinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday.
The world number one stretched his unbeaten match streak to 26 as he put the four-times winner and eighth seed to the sword, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 39 minutes.
Federer, who hasn’t lost against a top-10 player in 24 matches since October 2003, was irresistible as he tore apart the eight-times grand-slam champion to set up a semifinal on Thursday with Marat Safin, whom he beat in last year’s final.
Yet again the 23-year-old Swiss ace showed why he is in a class of his own as he closes in on his fifth grand-slam crown and third in a row.
”I wanted to get away to a good start in the match and I really served well for the whole match and he never broke me,” Federer said. ”It’s going to be fantastic to play Marat again after last year’s final and I’m really looking forward to playing him again.”
Federer’s virtuoso performance enabled him to equal Agassi’s stretch of 26 unbeaten matches set back in 1995 — the joint third-longest winning streak since 1990 behind Austrian Thomas Muster’s 35 in 1995.
The Swiss maestro’s last defeat match was to Czech Tomas Berdych in the second round of the Athens Olympics tournament last August.
The last time Federer lost to a top-10 opponent came against Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero, who was world number one at the time, in Madrid 15 months ago.
Federer brought gasps from the Rod Laver Arena crowd with his dazzling array of ground strokes and a potent serve that realised 22 aces.
Federer has now beaten Agassi in their past five meetings and leads 5-3 overall.
Agassi came under pressure in the sixth game of the opening set when he double-faulted on his fourth break point to deliver Federer a 4-2 lead.
Agassi, who has reigned here with victories in 1995, 2000/01 and 2003 before Federer won last year, took the top seed to six deuces before Federer served out for the opening set in 35 minutes.
From there, it was one-way traffic as Federer broke Agassi again in the opening game of the second set when the 34-year-old American’s backhand was wide.
Agassi never gave up and stretched Federer to three deuces before the Swiss champion held serve with an ace and a thundering first serve.
The reigning Australian, Wimbledon and US Open champion served out for the second set and went two-up when Agassi’s forehand was long.
Yet again Federer broke Agassi in the first game of the final set and defied the veteran American’s best efforts to break back and prevent him from a straight-sets victory.
Federer is bidding to become the first player to win three consecutive grand slams since American Pete Sampras in 1993/94 and become only the third man in the Open era (post-1969) to achieve it, along with Australian Rod Laver. — Sapa-AFP