The beers are on Roger! Federer tells tennis fans to enjoy an Australia Day drink after another victory – and hints he’ll carry on playing into his forties
- The Swiss maestro cast aside Marton Fucsovics at Melbourne Park on Sunday
- Told crowd they still had time to celebrate Australia Day as clock struck 11.30pm
- ‘It’s not over yet. You guys have another half an hour to grab a drink,’ he said
- Federer, 38, hinted he may still be playing professional tennis into his 40s
Roger Federer urged his fans at the to enjoy an Australia Day drink after progressing to the quarter finals at the Australian Open with a come from behind victory.
The Swiss maestro cast aside Marton Fucsovics at Melbourne Park on Sunday, before telling the crowd they still had time to celebrate the national day as the clock struck 11.30pm.
‘Happy Australia Day everybody here in Australia. Very much so. I hope you guys are having a nice evening. It’s not over yet. You guys have another half an hour to grab a drink,’ he said.
‘It’s a pleasure to play here to night.’
Federer, 38, hinted he may still be playing professional tennis into his 40s.
Roger Federer urged his fans at the to enjoy an Australia Day drink after progressing to the quarter finals at the Australian Open
‘Enjoy your night. Enjoy your day. I hope I see you again of course next year on Australia Day. That would be nice,’ he said.
If Federer were to compete at next year’s Australian Open – and he completes the 2021 season – he would be 40 years old when he played the US Open in September.
Meanwhile, Federer was noticeably rusty on Sunday night after his third-round thriller against John Millman went to a match tiebreak, but came out on top of Fucsovics 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-2.
Federer admitted the Millman match had affected him, saying: ‘It was a tough start, I thought Marton played clean. After Millman, the guy gave me a beatdown from the baseline, so maybe took away my confidence a bit.
‘I just had to figure it out. I had a good start to the second set and from there it got a little bit easier.’
Federer did not look physically at his best, which was no surprise after his efforts two nights before.
He said: ‘I was able to recover and play a good match so I’m sure I’m going to feel better every day that goes by.’
The Swiss maestro cast aside Marton Fucsovics at Melbourne Park on Sunday, before telling the crowd they still had time to celebrate the national day as the clock struck 11.30pm
An upcoming 50th match-up looms between Federer and Novak Djokovic after the Swiss star moved into the last eight.
One of tennis’s most storied rivalries looks on the cards for the semi-finals with Djokovic moving through to the last eight after a win over Diego Schwartzman.
But first Federer will first have to overcome Tennys Sandgren.
The American and Federer have never played but the 20-time grand slam champion will be a red-hot favourite against the world No.100.
For his part Djokovic must get past a revitalised Milos Raonic if he’s to have a chance of improving his 26-23 record over the 20-time grand slam champion.
Federer, 38, hinted he may still be playing professional tennis into his 40s