An Australian Open Notebook (Day 12)

trong> in the AO semis. Here’s the exchange:

DARREN CAHILL: Roger, a great match, a perfect way to go into a final.

ROGER FEDERER: No wasted energy, that’s for sure. I’m very surprised, obviously, how the match went. I’d expected quite differently. He’s got such great potential. I’m sure we’ll see much more of him. But tonight was one of the those days where he needed that first set so badly and maybe after that he sort of just let his head hang a bit and was a bit disappointed and I took advantage of it. I’m very happy.

DC: Did you notice he was actually touching his stomach, abdominal muscles there at the start?

RF: No.

DC: Because you got off to a great start early in the second set, it looked like a little pace came off the serve [of Tsonga].

RF: Well, the thing is with him, I’ve seen many times in the past that all of the sudden he doesn’t serve so hard. He can serve 135, 140 miles per hour and the next thing you know he’s just tossing in 120s just because he doesn’t need to serve hard sometimes. I just thought it was a tactical thing. Sometimes it’s a good thing knowing that he’s maybe just fine and you don’t know about his injuries and stuff. I’m happy I played solid. I did nothing exceptional. It was just nice.

DC: Last year, you had two days off going into the final. And you played the magnificent five-set final against Rafa. This time it’s more traditional, and we’re creatures of habit as tennis players, so one day off is a more normal preparation going into the final. Do you think that helps you?

RF: I don’t think it matters at this stage. I’ve seen too many things to be worried about one day off, two days off, no days off. At the U.S. Open, we don’t usually have a day off. Last year, we had two days off. This year, we have one day off. This is more the norm. The French Open is this way, at Wimbledon it’s this way and at the Australian Open you have a 50 percent chance that it’s this way. I think it’s nice. I have no injuries that need to heal in one or two days, so I feel that one day is perfect and off we go against Murray. It’s going to be a tough one.

DC: It’s the final everybody’s been talking about: Andy Murray against yourself. What are your thoughts on that?

RF: I’m not surprised that he made it through to the final. I thought it could be one of those years he going to make a break and he did that by beating Rafa, and then making it through to another final. Now the question is can he go all the way? He’s got loads of expectations, but I think he’s actually handling it very well. He’s just a regular guy who knows he plays good tennis and he can beat the best. He’ll definitely come out there believing he can beat me. He’s beaten me I think more than I’ve beaten him, so that will help him, but usually in Grand Slam play he knows it can be bit different. I think the start is going to be crucial. I hope he hopes too badly to win the first set and then maybe he lets his head hang again, but we’ll see how it goes. I’m excited about the match.

DC: So you believe the first set is crucial for you?

RF: I think more for him than for me, just because of him never having won a Grand Slam before. Yesterday, when he played against Marin Cilic, he lost the first set, came back, and cruised at the end. So that shows now that he’s really become a good champion. We’ve always had very tactical matches, so it’s going to be very interesting to see what he chooses and what I choose.

DC: Talking about the tactical match, against Rafa, he came out and was very defensive and yesterday, against Cilic, quite defensive. Do you expect him to be more offensive against you?

RF: I don’t know. He’s never played overly offensive against me. He’s usually just sort of keeping the ball in play and just being really tough. He’s one of the greatest returners we have in the game right now. That usually keeps him in the game. If he serves well on the first serve, he’s tough to break because he’s so tough on the baseline. Against Rafa, that was a unique Andy Murray we saw. I don’t think it’s something he usually does because Rafa was really struggling by taking Andy’s serve. Where as Cilic returned them actually quite easily there for three sets. I was quite surprised. I’m expecting to play sort of medium tennis, not too aggressive, not too passive.

NOTEBOOK

YOU JUST NEVER KNOW: The AO has been crowded with stunning comebacks, curious collapses and more swings than your local daycare center. But the semifinal pastings by Roger Federer and Justine Henin were boring cakewalks.

A TALE OF TWO FIGHTERS: Henin and Serena Williams have two distinct competitive styles, but they do have one thing in common: they’re the two fiercest battlers in the women’s game.

WIZARDRY 101: We thought Federer’s shotmaking at the U.S. Open and the year-end ATP Finals in London was beyond the veil. But at the Aussie Open, Andy Murray has been on fire. His back-to-back on-the-run backhand winners against John Isner were astounding. And he more than duplicated that effort against Marin Cilic. The Scot sprinted forward to retrieve a drop shot on a key point in the second set, scrambled back into position to hit a stretch volley, then ran all the way back to the baseline, where he hit a flip forehand, back-to-the-net forehand for an outright winner. Then, deep into the final set, Murray hit a Jimmy Connors-like sprinting forehand from what seemed to be New Zealand around the net post for yet another slight-of-hand winner. The stretch forehand at a full run prompted commentator Justin Gimelstob to mumble, “That’s just not normal.”

NOT-SO-FUZZY MATH: Patrick McEnroe noted that Federer lost 11 points in 11 service games, saying, “I’m no mathematician, bit I think that’s one a game.”

JUST WONDERING: What’s more important — Murray’s 6-4 record against Federer, or the fact that Federer has out-Slammed Murray 15-0, or that Federer prevailed in their last Slam head-to-head meeting in the ’08 U.S. Open final?

PLAY TIME: Federer’s dismantling of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was so fast that ESPN was quick to note that the Swiss “may have a chance to play with his twin daughters.”

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE: Tsonga didn’t show any of his trademark high-voltage energy until he was down 6-2, 6-3, 5-2 and facing triple-match-point.

HIGH PRAISE FOR ROGER AND PETE: Versatile commentator Ted Robinson (who’s called everything from Olympic short track speed skating to Grand Slam tennis to San Francisco 49er games in his wide-ranging career) said Federer’s unparalleled streak of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinal appearances is the singles greatest achievement he’s witnessed in ANY sport. (Robinson added the Pete Sampras was the most single-minded, focused athlete he’s ever seen.)

EASE HIS PAIN: When a British reporter asked Federer, “Can you imagine what it’s like for a nation to have wait for so long to win a Grand Slam?” the Swiss tried to ease his pain, noting that it could be worse. Said Fed, “You could be one of those nations that never had a Grand Slam champion, you know.”

QUOTEBOOK

“It helps that he’s a sick talent.” — Justin Gimelstob on more-than-promising Marin Cilic