Federer shifts gear after slow start to reach Melbourne quarters

Tennis - Australian Open - Fourth Round - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 26, Switzerland's Roger Federer in action during his match against Hungary's Marton Fucsovics - Reuters

MELBOURNE (Reuters): Roger Federer regained control after a slow start against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics to march into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with a 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 win on a chilly evening at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday.

The six-time Australian Open winner, who was two points from defeat against John Millman in his previous round, looked rusty in the opening set against Fucsovics in a repeat of their fourth-round clash here in 2018.

The third-seeded Federer will now face American Tennys Sandgren, who defeated No. 12 seed Fabio Fognini 7-6(5) 7-5 6-7(2) 6-4 earlier on Sunday.

“The morning after Johnny’s match and this morning I lay in bed for an hour thinking, ‘when are we going to stand up? Okay 1-2-3, huh, and how do I feel?” he laughed, referring to his 4-6 7-6(2) 6-4 4-6 7-6(8) win over Millman.

“I was able to recover; I’m sure I’m going to feel better every day that goes by after that match.”

Fucsovics had not won a set against Federer in their previous two meetings but wiped that off his record after getting the only break in the seventh game of the opener when the Swiss committed three straight unforced errors.