TENNIS nice guy Roger Federer doesn't hesitate to turn up the heat on an opponent - off the court, as well.
Especially a title contender such as Novak Djokovic, who ended Federer's quest for an Australian Open hat-trick in the semi-finals last year.
Federer questioned Djokovic's decision to change his brand of racquet this year when queried on the extra pressures confronting the defending champion.
Struggling to become accustomed to the new racquet contributed to Djokovic's shock first-round exit in Brisbane last week, forcing him to take a wildcard in Sydney to get more matches this week.
"I'm quite surprised he made a switch like this in the best phase of his career," Federer said yesterday.
"He can sure play good tennis, but when it comes down to the crunch, you just have a bit of a doubt because you're just not quite comfortable with that racquet.
"We'll see what happens. It's going to be a big test for him." Federer's belief that he can equal Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles at Melbourne Park in the next fortnight was heightened by a hard-earned 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5) win against Spanish left-hander Fernando Verdasco, the world No. 15, to reach tomorrow's AAMI Classic final at Kooyong.
The Open's second seed will play the winner of today's semi-final between Davis Cup compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka and Chile's Fernando Gonzalez.
After what shaped up as an early afternoon's work after skipping to a 5-0 lead in the opening set, Federer had to labour for 2hr 14 min to tame Verdasco's punishing forehand and power hitting.
"Long matches don't bother me at this stage. If I was practising, it would also be two to three hours, so it was good," Federer said.
"But it's better to be on the match court. He was struggling early with the sun and then he started to get better and better and it was a good match." Federer says he can become only the third man to win the Grand Slam -- all four majors in a calendar year -- a feat denied by losses in the French Open final in 2006 and 2007.
"I think it's possible still, to be quite honest, because conditions have slowed down," the 27-year-old said.
"I don't think Wimbledon is terribly fast any more. The US Open and Australian Open feels pretty similar and, if you're on top of things, it can fall your way. Before the grass and clay was too one-sided.
"You had clay players and grass players and it was tough to win the big one not on your favourite surface. You couldn't do it for a number of years.
"I came close a few times now. But you always have someone who's really in great shape on one surface and to beat that guy and another six guys is a tough thing to do.
"That's what I ran into with Rafa (Rafael Nadal) on clay."http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24918629-11088,00.html---
Мн хубава снимка...
Може би титла на АО, ще е достатъчен повод за повторение.