Melbourne: Ruthless Swiss master Roger Federer said Wednesday he had ‘plenty left in the tank’ as he kept intact his 20-year record of reaching at least the third round of the Australian Open after crushing Serb Filip Krajinovic.
The six-time champion first played at Melbourne Park in 2000 and has gone on to make the semifinals or better on 14 occasions, with no exits before round three.
The 38-year-old third seed dominated the 41st-ranked Krajinovic 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena, stretching his record over him to 4-0.
Federer, who is bidding for a seventh title to match Novak Djokovic’s record and his first since 2018, came into the tournament without playing a warm-up event but has nevertheless looked ominous.
“Very happy, been a great start to the season,” Federer said as he moved a step closer to a 21st Grand Slam title. “I feel really relaxed on court. I’ve trained hard and you always hope it pays off,” added the Swiss legend.
Federer said he did feel sorry for the hapless Krajinovic. “I do feel a bit sorry, but you’ve got to take advantage of it,” Federer stated.
Over his two matches so far Federer has dropped just 13 games, and admitted he preferred easy early encounters rather than tough battles to preserve energy.
“I prefer this much more than overcooked. As easy as it looks, there’s always the effort, trying to extend the lead,” he said. “Of course, it’s not quite the same stress level if you’re down a set or a break or two sets, whatever it may be. I prefer it this way because you have always extra left in the tank if you need it,” added Federer.
The mercuruial Swiss next faces a tougher assignment against Australian John Millman, who beat him in four tough sets at the 2018 US Open.
“He’s (Millman) fit like a fiddle. I’ve lost to him in the past… he’s from this country so naturally also it’s going to be different intensity. I think this is going to be a good test for me,” Federer stated.
Despite his age Federer remains a competitive force and won four singles titles last year. But he failed to add another Grand Slam title with his closest call coming in the Wimbledon final, where he lost a five-set epic to Novak Djokovic.
AFP