Federer masterclass on dramatic day

Roger Federer handed out a masterclass to Australian teen Bernard Tomic as he reached the quarter-finals on a day of tears and drama at the Australian Open Sunday. While Federer was at his mesmerising best and Rafael Nadal also went through, China’s Li Na left in floods of tears after she fell victim to an astonishing comeback by hobbling women’s champion Kim Clijsters. And ear-splitting boos greeted Tomas Berdych’s win over Nicolas Almagro as the Czech player refused to shake hands at the end of their stormy match.

Nineteen-year-old Tomic, the great hope of Australian tennis, could only shake his head in disbelief as Federer dug into his bag of tricks and unleashed his full repertoire of unreachable drops and a balletic backhand smash. “I thought I played a really good match. I knew I had to, anything else and I wouldn’t have got the job done,” said the Swiss world number three, who stays on course for a grandstand semi-final with Nadal.

AFP