AP
BRISBANE, JANUARY 8
Roger Federer overcame a lingering sickness to hold off Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4 on Friday and take his title defense into the semifinals at the Brisbane International.
Federer delayed his opening match at the Australian Open warmup until the fifth day because of a flu-like illness and was playing Dimitrov in the quarterfinals on less than 24 hours rest.
His serve in the first set was almost flawless, dropping just two points, and he appeared to be on course with break-point chances for another straight-set victory over the young Bulgarian - sometimes likened to him because of their similar styles - before Dimitrov rallied.
After wasting a chance to serve out the second set in a nervous 10th game, Dimitrov dominated the tiebreaker and forced a decider.Federer, after showing signs of fatigue in the second, took a quick break before the third, and then went on a roll to set up three match points in the ninth game. Again Dimitrov rallied, winning five consecutive points and forcing Federer to serve it out - which the 17-time major winner duly did.
''I'm not going to tell you too much, but it was tough in a way,'' Federer said of his illness, knowing the Australian Open starts Jan. 18. ''Body is not quite ready, so it's good to get through it without any issues.''
By holding off Dimitrov, who is 10 years his junior, Federer set up a meeting with 22-year-old Dominic Thiem, the youngest player in the top 20.
Thiem beat third-seeded Marin Cilic 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4 and later said he was hoping to play Federer.
''It's for every young player an amazing experience to play with the probably greatest of all time,'' Thiem said. ''You can learn so many things from him.''
The other semifinal match will feature 2015 finalist Milos Raonic against Bernard Tomic.
Tomic ended 2014 U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori's streak of three straight semifinal appearances at the Brisbane International with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 win, his first over a top 10 player on home soil.
Raonic relied on his big serve to dictate a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 78-ranked Lucas Pouille.
Fourth-seeded Angelique Kerber moved into the women's final by beating Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-3. She'll play two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, who beat American qualifier Samantha Crawford 6-0, 6-3.
In Auckland, New Zealand, Julia Goerges reached her sixth WTA final and her first in four years when she beat qualifier Tamira Paszek 6-4, 6-2 in the ASB Classic semifinals.
Sloane Stephens was leading 5-2 in the first set of the other semifinal match against third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki when rain halted play, forcing it to be postponed to Saturday.
In-form Mirza, Hingis advance to final
Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Swiss partner Martina Hingis continued their stupendous run by clinching their 25th victory together to enter the final of the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament here today.
The top-seeded Indo-Swiss duo defeated the Slovak-Russian combination of Andreja Klepac and Alla Kudryavtseva 6-3 7-5 to make the summit clash.
Sania and Hingis will next be up against winner of the other semifinal between the Spanish team of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Arantxa Parra Santonja and the German wildcard pairing of Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic.
Sania and Hingis, currently the world's No.1 team, breezed past their rivals in the opening set before facing slight resistance in the second.
"It's been a long time since we've lost, but it's never easy to start a new season, especially when you're coming off such a great season. Everyone's gunning for us - we're the hunted," Sania said.
"We're just taking it one match at a time, stay positive, and pick up from where we left off."
Sania and Hingis won five titles last season and their unbeaten streak is the longest since Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci's 25 in a row in 2012.
The Italians had also won five titles in a row, at Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, the French Open and 's-Hertogenbosch before their run came to an end in the Wimbledon.
"I think we're off to a great start in the new season. We never really felt like we finished in 2015 - I played the Indian league and Sania played IPTL, so we still kept our routine," Hingis said.
"We're really happy to have the possibility to be in another final here, and win another title," she added.
Australia's Bernard Tomic said his big improvement as a tennis player was on display during his three-set quarter-final win over Kei Nishikori at the Brisbane International on Friday.
Tennis-Nishikori and Azarenka move through to Brisbane quarters Reuters
Tomic delighted his home fans when he ousted the second-seeded Nishikori from Japan 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in a shade under two hours, putting him into a semi-final showdown against huge-serving Canadian Milos Raonic. Tomic, who hails from the nearby Gold Coast, powered through the first set before Nishikori fought back to take the second. But after both players struggled to hold serve at the start of the third, Tomic took control and eased away to claim the match.
The win came almost 12 months to the day after Nishikori thumped Tomic 6-0, 6-4 at the same stage of last year's Brisbane tournament, and almost certainly assures Tomic a top 16 seeding for the Australian Open.
"I had the opportunity to play him last year and it was a different level for me today," said Tomic. "I've improved so much." Tomic said his improved serve had allowed him to control large parts of the match.
