Roger Federer needs only 90 minutes to cruise into fourth round

ByMATT WILANSKY
January 21, 2017, 12:21 AM

— -- MELBOURNE, Australia -- With stone-cold confidence reminiscent of his vintage days, Roger Federer dominated? Tomas Berdych?under the lights of Rod Laver Arena to move on to the fourth round of the Australian Open.

The match, a brisk 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 win Friday by Federer, lasted only 90 minutes, the fifth-shortest full-term encounter of the men's tournament. This one came surprisingly easy for the 17th-ranked Swiss, who last season injured his knee a day after the semifinals. He broke Berdych four times and won an astounding 95 percent of his first-serve deliveries, a career best at a major. Just as revealing: Federer never faced a break point in the match.

Although he won his first his first two matches here in a relatively stress-free manner, this one against the No. 10 Berdych promised to be a stern test. But the 35-year-old, who also clubbed eight aces, produced a masterpiece that surprised even himself.

"I had no expectations, really," Federer said in his on-court interview. "Things were going well in practice, but I've never been the practice king. I was winning tons of sets, but I wasn't sure that was a good thing or not.

"I'm happy it went as well as it did. I struggled in the early rounds. And I did surprise myself."

Bottom line: This was incredibly easy for Federer. The first two sets ended in 56 minutes. In the third, he broke Berdych in the opening game. In the next game, Federer deftly danced around a backhand and unloaded an inside-out forehand winner to go up 2-0. That was merely a microcosm of the day for both players. As the match wore on, Federer became stronger. In the final frame, Federer hit 16 winners and only four unforced errors.

When Federer decided to end his 2016 season prematurely, there was understandably cause for concern. Never in his 19 years on tour had he missed extended time with injury. But all along, he maintained his resolve in coming back at full capacity.

Safe to say few will doubt his form now. On the ESPN broadcast, John McEnroe noted that Federer made Berdych look like the 100th-ranked player in the world.

Berdych looked out of sorts all match long. In the offseason, he had worked to shorten his ball toss, a decision that, in theory, would give him more consistency on his serve. But the stat that stuck out Friday: Berdych won only 30 percent of his second-serve points.

Federer continued his mastery of Berdych here in Melbourne, improving to 4-0. Only Novak Djokovic (5-0 against Andy Murray) has more wins and no losses against one player Down Under.

"I always felt like against the better-ranked players, you lift your game naturally because you have to," Federer said. "Usually [Berdych and I] feed off each other. I did, he didn't. I couldn't be happier now, obviously."

On Sunday, Federer will play No. 5 Kei Nishikori,?who beat Lukas Lacko 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the fourth round for a sixth straight year at Melbourne Park. Federer leads that matchup 4-2 and has won the past three.