In 21 trips to the Australian Open, Roger Federer has advanced to at least the third round; a phenomenal Wednesday night performance at Rod Laver Arena encapsulated his longevity, and hinted at many more rounds to come this fortnight.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion was in top gear as he dispatched Filip Krajinovic 6-1 6-4 6-1 in just 92 minutes, unleashing 42 winners.
Federer’s pursuit of a seventh Australian Open will continue in the third round against home charge John Millman.
“I’m very happy, it’s a great start to the season so far. I trained hard and you hope it pays off. I’m still going and looking forward to the next one,” beamed Federer before admitting he felt sorry for his opponent.
After Monday’s schedule was truncated by rain, Krajinovic only advanced to a meeting with Federer after beating Frenchman Quentin Halys in five sets in Tuesday.
“At 0-40, 5-1, I thought it wasn’t 100 per cent fair that he had played three and a half hours yesterday and me zero,” Federer said, hinting that playing indoors on another wet Melbourne summer’s night had disadvantaged Krajinovic further.
“The rain helped me. You have to take advantage of it, but I do feel a little bit sorry.”
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A crouching backhand down the line by Federer was an early sign of brilliance, but it was nothing on the next point. On the run, the 38-year-old flicked his wrist to guide a glancing backhand along the tramline to chalk up an instant break.
Just like his imperious first-round victory over Steve Johnson, Federer was cruising on serve, whilst dictating play within short and sharp rallies.
In an opening-set masterclass seemingly played on fast-forward, the Swiss sauntered to 5-0 up in just 15 minutes.
The full catalogue of shots were on display, with audacious volleys, arrowed serves and textbook groundstrokes launching the No.3 seed to a set and break lead.
The confidence was oozing, with Federer striking his shots early at several steps inside the baseline.
At 3-1, there was another hotshot from the Swiss maestro for the highlights edit. World No.41 Krajinovic connected with a brilliant volley into the forehand corner of the baseline, but Federer sprinted to lunge and then hook a truly spectacular forehand cross-court passing shot.
The shot was so special that the crowd conducted a second round of applause in the stands after the replay came up on the big screens.
A double break wasn’t possible and Krajinovic, managing to cope physically despite a five-set battle in the first round, earned a first break point. The chance was erased in a flash.
However, at 3-4 Krajinovic nudged the Swiss off his rhythm and forced the world No.3 into some rare errors to level the set.
To the Serbian’s frustration, Federer then rattled through two games and had two sets to his name with just 59 minutes on the clock.
Krajinovic was crunching first serves in at 90 per cent in the first two sets, but still couldn’t inflict much damage on Federer’s artillery.
“I saw that, I was looking at the stats,” Federer said.
“It was a very high first serve percentage, extremely high. He wasn’t just kicking it in … I was somehow able to get the ball back in, get into the rally and figure it out from there.”
A trademark backhand pass was the weapon used to claim an instant break, and with Krajinovic struggling with a right elbow complaint, Federer cantered into the last 32.
Next up for the Swiss is Millman, who knocked Federer out of the US Open fourth round in 2018 in sweltering conditions.
“He’s a great guy, I’ve practiced a lot with him,” said Federer, before recalling that Flushing Meadows defeat with a sense of humour.
“I almost passed out when I played him in New York, it was so hot, but he had no problem, he’s from Queensland. He was like ‘normal stuff.’ He never came to check if I passed out, actually …
“I’ve played him two other times, once in Brisbane (2015), I almost lost that one too, and also in Halle (2019). He’s a super good guy, unbelievably tough opponent. There aren’t many as fit as him out there.
“They’re the guys I respect the most out there, because they get the most out of their game. I hope it’s going to be a great match with some great rallies.”