Sports Briefs
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ROGER Federer, current world number three player, reached the last 16 at the Australian Open after proving too strong for Grigor Dimitrov in their highly-anticipated third-round match on Friday, January 22.
The Swiss won 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-4 under the Rod Laver Arena roof as rain halted play on the outside courts.
It brought four-time champion Federer his 300th Grand Slam match win.
The 34-year-old Swiss had won a tight battle against Dimitrov in Brisbane in the build-up to the Australian Open, but was a more comfortable winner on the bigger Grand Slam stage.
Both men displayed the elegant shot-making for which they are known, but had Federer been more effective on break points in the second set, he might have won it in three sets.
Federer failed to recover an early deficit in the second set and had converted only one of eight break points going into the third, only to step on the gas and leave Dimitrov in his wake.
“Grigor was playing well and I thought I was struggling a little bit,” said Federer, who plays Belgian David Goffin in round four.
“It was an important start to the third set. Thankfully I got the early break and was able to stay in the lead.”
Top seeds Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic won in straight sets, while Maria Sharapova, former champion, also won her match.
Williams, of the United States, US, was in imperious form, taking just 45 minutes to beat Darya Kasatkina, an 18-year-old Russian, 6-1 6-1.
Djokovic, a Serb, was not at his best against Andreas Seppi, but won 6-1 7-5 7-6 (8-6), thanks in part to the Italian finding the net too often with his returns.
On her part, Sharapova, seeded fifth, needed three sets to beat un-seeded American Lauren Davis. The Russian won 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-0.
— Feb 1, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT
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