Federer falls to rising Murray in semis

Roger Federer unfortunately lost his semi-final match to Andy Murray, but it wasn't without a fight. He eventually succumbed 4/6, 7/6, 3/6, 7/6, 2/6.

As much as I dislike Andy Murray, I have to credit him for a very solid performance, great serving, and even when he surrendered his serve at 6-5 in the 4th set for the match and lost the ensuing tiebreak, he still composed himself well to take the deciding set.

Roger Federer was always behind in the match, served very poorly by his high standards, and it wasn't his best match. Well done Murray for being the better player on the night and getting Federer frustrated at times.

I'm still proud of Federer for fighting and making a match of it, forcing the contest to 5 sets and giving his all again. It is important too, to be gracious in both victory and defeat. It was a pleasure seeing him play, even if the end result wasn't what we wanted.

He's made ten consecutive Australian Open semi-finals or better - that in itself is an achievement to be proud of!

We look forward to seeing you in action again Roger!

Fantastic Federer overcomes Tsonga storm!

Roger Federer held his nerve and kept his cool to beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Rod Laver arena in 5 pulsating sets tonight.

What a match! It was so tense and I was nervous as Tsonga rattled serves past Federer and won numerous long rallies. There were a few moments in the match when I wasn't feeling too confident about Fed's chances. But the great man pulled through and I'm so proud of him!

Federer won the important 1st and 3rd sets, both on tiebreaks, but Tsonga wouldn't go away. If it wasn't for his errors at vital times, the outcome may have been different.

Federer is 31 but showed no signs of fatigue as the match rolled into a 5th set. The final score read 7/6, 4/6, 7/6, 3/6, 6/3 to the Swiss in a little over three and a half hours.

Credit goes to Tsonga for a great performance too. The Frenchman appeared to be in the zone, on serve and with his dangerous forehand. He had Federer on the stretch a number of times.

But Federer's game held firm and I'm absolutely delighted with this win. I'm sure he'll take a lot of added confidence into his semi-final with Andy Murray after this match, and here's hoping he can make another major final!

Flawless Federer beats Raonic in three

Roger Federer defeated Milos Raonic in straight sets last night to set up a mouthwatering QF clash with Jo-wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday.

Federer comfortably won the match 6/4, 7/6, 6/2, taking his H2H over Raonic to 4-0. He also reached his 35th consecutive major quarter final.

It was a clean and impressive performance from Federer who controlled the match from the baseline against his considerably younger opponent.

Fans appreciate Federer's tennis; photographers also are kept busy snapping pictures of this legend:

Federer is currently playing the best tennis at the Australian Open. If it continues I would feel very good about his chances of winning major #18! The backhand has looked solid, the forehand is a dream, his serve is efficient, and he's keeping the errors down low.

Keep going Roger, we love to see you perform!

Stanislas Wawrinka a true hero!

Like many people around the world, I enjoyed the amazing tennis match between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer's understudy, Stanislas Wawrinka last night.

This 4th round match lasted 5 hours and 2 minutes, with the #1 seed Djokovic winning by a scoreline of 1/6, 7/5, 6/4, 6/7, 12/10.

I was amazed at the onslaught that Wawrinka threw at Djokovic from the very start right until the very last point. He attacked at every opportunity and it was so unfortunate for him that he ended up losing the match.

It was a fantastic contest and Wawrinka really elevated his level so high and the quality of tennis from both players didn't diminish as the contest ticked over 4 and 5 hours. It was thrilling, tense, exciting, nerve-racking; we experienced the ecstasy of victory and the agony of defeat in the very same moment when Djokovic watched his backhand fly past Wawrinka at match point #3.

Stan the man won the love and respect of just about everybody after his amazing performance. His backhand is just the stuff of dreams, as sweet as any shot of any player in the world. If you don't follow tennis so closely, it would have been difficult to figure out which player was the #1 seed.

As a fellow Swiss, Roger Federer fans are extremely proud of Stanislas Wawrinka for his Herculean efforts last night. We salute you Stan, you've inspired us all! Your backhand winner to save match point #2 was out of this world and is by far, the shot of the tournament!

Looking forward to Roger Federer's match with Milos Raonic later today!

Federer beats Tomic; records 250th major win

Roger Federer beat Australia's Bernard Tomic in straight sets in Melbourne, 6/4 7/6 6/1. In the process, he became the first man ever to win 250 matches at major tournaments.

Federer's class shone through, despite a valiant effort from young Tomic in the 2nd set, where Federer rallied from 4-1 down in the tiebreaker, to take it 7-5.

The tiebreaker really knocked the stuffing out of Tomic and Federer breezed through the third set to wrap up his 3rd consecutive straight sets win at Melbourne this year.

Up next in round 4 is the dangerous Milos Raonic. Federer's last couple of meetings with the Canadian have been extremely close affairs, with the Swiss coming out on top. We may see a couple of tiebreakers in this one, but I feel confident that Federer will make it to the quarters.

I was particularly impressed with Federer's backhand against Tomic. It looked solid all the way through, and I barely remember a single error from the backhand wing.

It's a joy watching Roger play, but especially when he has that winning look in his eye . . .

GO ROGER!!!

Federer's draw for Australian Open 2013

The draw for the Australian Open 2013 is out and Roger Federer has a 1st round match against Benoit Paire.

From then on, it gets more tricky, with a likely 2nd round clash with the unpredictable Nikolay Davydenko. I don't want to look beyond that. I'm intrigued as to how rusty Federer may or may not be after not playing a competitive match since November.

Roger won't have much time to get in a rhythm as he'll need to be on the top of his game right away, at least from the 2nd round onwards.

I'm excited for Monday, in particular a men's 1st round clash between Janko Tipsarevic and an in-form Lleyton Hewitt, who has just beaten Raonic and Berdych back-to-back this week.

It's been a long time waiting to see Roger play again, so let's hope he can go deep in Melbourne!