Australian Open 2020: Roger Federer overcomes Marton Fucsovics to book quarter-final berth

Roger Federer overcame a shaky start to his fourth-round encounter to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2020 Australian Open. The Swiss maestro beat Marton Fucsovics 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 ,6-2 in front of a partisan crowd at the Rod Laver Arena to book his place in the last 16 of the tournament.

After the initial blip in the first set, Federer was back to his regal self. The wand of the Swiss sorcerer played a few tricks that were too much for his opponent. Deft drop shots, controlled backhand slices and stunning forehand winners were on display as the Swiss maestro remains on course for his seventh Australian Open title.

Never 👏 In 👏 Doubt 👏@rogerfederer comes from a set down to advance to his 1️⃣5️⃣th #AusOpen quarterfinal, def. Marton Fucsovics 4-6 6-1 6-2 6-2.#AO2020 pic.twitter.com/p5ISTPGkP5
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2020

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After the match, this is what the legendary Swiss had to say,

"It was a tough start, I thought Marton played clean. After Millman, the guy gave me a beat down 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. 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."

Federer will next face Tennys Sandgren in the quarterfinals. Federer remains on course for a blockbuster showdown with Novak Djokovic, who also advanced to the quarter-finals by thrashing Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Federer has triumphed twice in the last three years at the Australian Open, and will also be looking to extend his stranglehold at the top by winning the first slam of the year and extending his lead to 21 slams. But, the biggest hurdle that will be lying between him and the title is defending champion Novak Djokovic, who looks in ominous form.