Roger Federer becomes first man to win 300 Grand Slam matches

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2016/01/22/3ce61b10-c08c-11e5-bcda-62a36b394160_story.html

Version 0 of 1.

MELBOURNE, Australia — The countless records and accolades accumulated over a long and illustrious career don’t in any way diminish Roger Federer’s satisfaction when he sets yet another benchmark.

Federer became the first man to win 300 Grand Slam singles matches when he beat Grigor Dimitrov, a player formerly dubbed “baby Fed” for the likeness of their styles, in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday.

Federer, 34, already tops many “most of” lists in men’s tennis — including the number of major titles won (17). Yet he still gets a thrill from the numbers.

“It’s very exciting, I must tell you,” Federer told the crowd after his 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory.

Federer is now 67 wins ahead of No. 2 and long-retired Jimmy Connors in terms of Grand Slam singles victories. Federer’s next aim is to break a Grand Slam title drought that dates to Wimbledon 2012. He reached two major finals in 2015, losing them both to Novak Djokovic. He could meet Djokovic in the semifinals.

Djokovic took care of the man who ended Federer’s run in the third round here last year, the Swiss star’s worst run at the Australian Open since 2001.

The No. 1-ranked Djokovic, a five-time Australian Open champion, beat No. 28-seeded Andreas Seppi, 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (8-6). Djokovic will play No. 14 Gilles Simon in the round of 16. Federer will face David Goffin.

Serena Williams, a six-time Australian Open winner, raced to a 6-1, 6-1 victory in 45 minutes over 18-year-old Russian Daria Kasatkina to set up a fourth-round match with Margarita Gasparyan, whom she beat early at Wimbledon last year.

If the fourth-round results go on rankings, Williams will meet No. 5 Maria Sharapova in a quarterfinal match that will feature both of last year’s finalists.

Sharapova beat Lauren Davis, 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-0, to record her 600th win at tour level, becoming the 17th and only fourth active women’s player to reach the mark.

The 2008 champion and four-time Australian Open finalist next plays No. 12 Belinda Bencic.

No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska moved on to a fourth-rounder against Anna-Lena Friedsam, who beat Roberta Vinci — the Italian player who ended Williams’s bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam in 2015.

The home crowd couldn’t quite lift No. 29 Nick Kyrgios in his four-set loss to No. 6 Tomas Berdych, a two-time semifinalist.

No. 12 Marin Cilic also lost, but Kei Nishikori — whom Cilic beat in the 2014 U.S. Open final — advanced over No. 26-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and will next play 2008 Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

In Saturday’s play, third-seeded Garbine Muguruza became the latest casualty in the women’s draw, beaten by Barbora Strycova, 6-3, 6-2, in the day’s first match at Rod Laver Arena.

No. 2 Simona Halep, No. 6 Petra Kvitova and No. 8 Venus Williams were previously eliminated from the tournament.

Also Saturday, Johanna Konta, 22, became the first British woman to reach the fourth round at the Australian Open in 29 years.

Konta beat Venus Williams in the first round and on Saturday had another straight-sets win over Denisa Allertova, 6-2, 6-2.

The 47th-ranked Konta is making her debut in the main draw at Melbourne Park but has shown few jitters and a fighting spirit.

— Associated Press