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Federer in Australian Open 2nd round
Melbourne, Jan 18 (IANS) Defending champion Roger Federer on Thursday cruised into the Australian Open third round, beating Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(7-4).
In one hour and 55 minutes, the 36-year-old Swiss secured his victory over World No.55 Struff, paving the way for his sixth Australian Open title that would make him a Grand Slam champion for the 20th time, reports Efe.
“It wasn’t easy. There’s an expectation on the underdog, but it was a good match and I wish him the best for the season,” Federer said.
The World No.2 fired 36 winners and won 83 percent of the first serve points with only one double fault.
In the upcoming round, Federer is set to play Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who defeated Lorenzo Sonego of Italy 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and 53 minutes.
–IANS
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.