By Chris Oddo | Friday October 30, 2015
Roger Federer survived a roller coaster quarterfinal to advance in Basel on Friday.
Photo Source: Harold Cunningham/Getty
Roger Federer’s Basel dominance had to roll through a spirited opponent on Friday, but the Swiss maestro found a way to summon his best tennis when it mattered to race past Belgium’s David Goffin down the stretch, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
Assist, Federer: Ball Kid Catches Roger's Offering
In a rematch of last year’s final Federer was the first to draw blood. He broke for 4-2 in set one when a silky down-the-line backhand slice forced a Goffin forehand wide and would hold serve for the rest of the set to grab the opener, 6-3.
But Goffin, who dropped the final to Federer last year, 6-2, 6-2, was not about to go quietly on this day. He mounted his surge and took control after a rough-and-tumble period of the second set that featured three consecutive breaks. Federer was in position to level back up and make it four breaks in succession but Goffin steadied up and tapped the breaks on the Swiss’ rally to hold for 5-2.
There were moments of frustration in the middle set for Federer, and he let the crowd know that he wasn’t happy with his performance at that moment:
Goffin would hold his nerve to wrap up the set but things quickly unraveled for him in the decider.
Federer broke for 2-0 when a slingshot Goffin forehand missed the line by a millimeter. The Swiss maestro let out a big sigh of relief when Hawk-Eye revealed he had indeed broken and that bit of exhalation seemed to relax him as he went about the business of locking down the match and continuing his quest for a tenth consecutive final in Basel.
Federer would put the nail in Goffin’s coffin by breaking for 5-1 when the Belgian’s forehand sailed wide.
The 34-year-old World No. 3 served out the match much to the delight of the roaring Basel faithful who had stayed to back their man late into the night on a Friday in which all four quarterfinals went to three sets.
Federer will move on to face American Jack Sock in the semis in Basel. The 23-year-old Sock has reached back-to-back semifinals in Europe over the last two weeks. Last week he fell in the Stockholm final to Tomas Berdych.
The other semifinal will feature Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet.
If Nadal and Federer are both to win they would meet in Basel for the first time. The pair of rivals have not met since the 2014 Australian Open. That was the 33rd meeting of their history. Nadal holds a 23-10 lifetime edge over Federer.