Maple leaf missile too tame for fabulous Federer

Experience triumphed over exuberance; the elixir of youth appeared potent but lacked the power to induce the insatiable master into slumber. The parade of promise that threatened to vandalise Roger Federer‘s impeccable Grand Slam heritage has now turned into nothing more than a 21 gun salute out to pay tribute to the timeless treasure housed in the mansion of the great maestro.As salutes go, the genesis of the gun salute was a naval tradition where a battle ship would spend its ammunition harmlessly by firing out to the open sea in a gesture meant to disarm and declare lack of hostile intent, much like Federer’s opponents in the path of his relentless march at the 101st Australian Open. Milos Raonic, just as Bernard Tomic before him, had set sail with hope and hostile intent. In a match that was reminiscent of the previous one, Federer possessed too much finesse for the intercepted missiles of the 21 year old to cause any degree of harm. The 31 year old Swiss played with characteristic precision and poise, striding confidently into his 35th straight Grand Slam quarter-finals with an uncomplicated 6-4 7-6(4) 6-2 victory in a little under two hours to set the age debate to rest, at least for now.

Federer, iridescent in his purple and pink outfit, got off to a strong start in the show-piece match on Rod Laver Arena under the brightly lit Melbourne night sky. The Swiss sounded the bugle with an ace, followed by a sharply struck forehand down the line winner to clinch the first game to love. Raonic on the other hand had a nervy start – and even though he held serve, the double fault at 40-15 left no doubt about the Canadian’s early tentativeness. Trouble stared Raonic in the face in the sixth game, but 225 kmph bombshells bailed out the 15th ranked player as he saved three break points to stay even at 3-3.

When the Swiss held to 5-4, he had yet to lose a point on his serve – that was 20 points on his serve without affording his opponent a sniff. For all the talk about the powerful serve of the 6’5″ Canadian, it was the incredibly serene Federer who was proving impregnable. Serving to stay in the set, Raonic succumbed to the pressure when he offered set point to the Swiss with a double fault. Roger grabbed at the opportunity with both hands, drawing his opponent to the net from where the tall Canadian could only manage to scramble the ball into the net.

The first set was in the embroidered bag of the world No.2, just 33 minutes after taking to court against an opponent who some thought might challenge the seasoned Federer. It was a set characterised by some aggressive tactics from Raonic – tactics that just did not pay off though, as you might read from the sampling here. The Canadian rushed to the net frequently, only to be passed on 6 out of 11 attempts. The 14 unforced errors, compared to just one for Federer, just exacerbated the inconsistent Canadian’s problems.

Maybe losing the first set helped lift the burden of expectation off the lanky Canadian’s shoulders. Raonic turned in a much improved performance in the second set – eight aces helping him keep toe to toe with Federer, who was himself showing no signs of a let up. With both men serving well, the set slipped into a tie-breaker without a single break point opportunity on either side of the net. The Canadian added three more aces to make a robust beginning to the breaker, by staying with Federer at 3-3 as they changed ends. But the Swiss pulled away from there, to bring up set points with an ace to jump to 6-3. A thumping forehand down the line winner helped Raonic save the first, but Federer responded in kind on the next point to take firm control of the match.

Federer had his foot on the throat of his beleaguered opponent and it did not take too much effort to choke him into meek submission. The Swiss made early inroads in the third, snatching a break in the first game with a backhand volley winner that played out as if it belonged in a Nureyev composition. When Federer struck a thumping forehand down the line winner to clinch the third game, the second break in the set was merely serving to hasten the last rites for his hapless opponent. Serving to stay in the match at 1-5, Raonic put up his final note of resistance by saving a couple of break points.

All it did was just delay the silken smooth Swiss’ dinner by a few more minutes. Another of those pounding forehand down the line winners put an end to the Canadian’s misery, as Federer put the final flourish on what was a most convincing victory. Federer, who has sought to step inside the court to try and finish points all week, won 14 of his 15 forays to the net. Impressive also was the fact that Federer did not face a single break point through the match, meaning that he would go into his 12th encounter with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga without having surrendered serve even once in the tournament so far.

At 31, Federer is showing no signs of wear and tear and it must scare his opponents that his reflexes aren’t waning either. “I thought I had a good night,” said the world No.2. “I was focused on what I wanted to do and was able to come through. As the match went on, I started to feel better. I felt good out there. I was moving well, had good anticipation and reaction today, which was key obviously on the return.” The vanquished Raonic, who had taken Federer the distance in each of their three encounters in 2012, admitted to being overrun by a superior player. “As soon as you let up a little bit with a shorter ball or anything, he’s taking advantage of it. He’s doing a lot of things well,” he said. “That’s Roger (sic). Just sort of swept me off the court.”

The Emperor, it seems, is no mood to turn in the reins to the younger lot, who will have to just wait out another summer for their much awaited moment in the sun. Meanwhile, Federer has the opportunity to avenge that stinging five set loss to Tsonga in the 2011 Wimbledon. The Frenchman had famously scripted an emotionally charged come from behind victory over the Swiss after being down by two sets to upend the Swiss in the quarter-finals.