Published>Wed, Jan 27 10 05:19 PM
World number one Roger Federer withstood a stern challenge from Nikolay Davydenko before mounting a furious counter-attack to win 2-6 6-3 6-0 7-5 and advance to the semi-finals of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Down a set and a break in the second, the Swiss top seed turned the match in the blink of an eye, winning 13 consecutive games to take the next two sets, then keeping the Russian at bay in the fourth as shadows crept across Rod Laver Arena.
By snapping Davydenko's 12 match winning streak, which included victories over Federer in their previous two meetings, the Swiss reached his 23rd successive grand slam semi-final since he was knocked out of the third round of the French Open in 2004.
"I played him many times and I know that he goes through phases at times, very rock solid phases," Federer said in a courtside interview.
"I knew he wasn't going to play through three or four sets like that. I knew he was going to dip a little bit."
"Somewhere you hang onto it. (It was) a bit of a surprise to come back that great."
Davydenko, who thumped his first three opponents before grinding a five-set victory over Fernando Verdasco, was immaculate early, breaking Federer three times to wrap up the first set and race to a 3-1 lead in the second.
Having declared the top 10 players were "scared" of him after winning the season-ending ATP Tour Finals in London, Davydenko appeared determined to live up to his self-proclaimed reputation, dictating the play and thumping winners from all angles.
FEDERER POUNCES
The bravado disappeared quickly, however, when given four chances to take a two-break lead, the Russian blew them all, following a double-fault with three consecutive unforced errors.
Federer, sensing the momentum shift, pounced.
At the end of a breathtaking half-hour of near faultless shot-making, the Swiss master emerged with a set up with a 2-0 lead in the fourth, while Davydenko was left reeling.
As both players struggled to deal with the dipping sun that left one side of the court plunged in darkness and the other brightly lit, Davydenko rallied, firing three crisply-hit winners in a row to save match point and break back to 5-5.
"I was like asking 'why now?' He could have played those at another time when it wasn't important," said Federer, who was beaten in last year's final by Rafa Nadal.
The 15-time grand slam champion bided his time, however, to take the break back, then dispatched the Russian with a thumping serve after setting up match point with an ace.
Federer next faces either France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Serbia's Novak Djokovic, who meet in a replay of their 2008 final in the late match on Rod Laver Arena.
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