Roger Federer majestically moved into the Australian Open final on Friday, after his opponent, South Korea’s Hyeon Chung retired injured, with foot blisters.
Federer had already ruthlessly claimed the first set 6-1 and was cruising 5-2 in the second set, when the Korean decided to opt out of the game.
The Swiss ace, who has 19 Grand slam trophies in his name, will now meet Croatian Marin Cilic in the final on Sunday. By qualifying for the final, Federer has become the oldest person since 1972, to play in the final.
In a courtside interview, Federer empathised with Chung for his injury, as he too had experienced it before.
But the defending champion was not happy the way the match ended.
“It’s bittersweet. I’m incredibly happy to be in the final, but not like this.”
“He [Chung] has a great composure and I think we’re going to see a lot more for him. Top 10 for sure. The rest, I don’t know, I don’t want to put too much pressure on him. I think he’s going to be a great player.”
Federer also spoke about his Sunday opponent Marin Cilic, who beat him in the semi-final of the US Open in 2014.
“We saw it against Rafa, we saw it again against Edmund. He brings power, he brings everything. He had a similar problem like Chung had in the Wimbledon final”, he said of Cilic.
“Not having a brutal semi-final, he’ll have rest and we’ll see a different Marin Cilic this time. He crushed me in the US Open semi-finals. I’m excited to play him.
“We actually played together on vacation in the Maldives. We were both looking for a hitting partner. I told him to practice in the tropicals helped me get to the finals.
“I can’t wait. I can’t wait.”
