MELBOURNE, Australia — Give Roger Federer credit for always showing up and always staying until the end, no matter how sick or hurt he might be.As it was, Federer was able to make a match of it for only about one set and about one hour before succumbing to the defending champion 7-6 , 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday night at Melbourne Park.
On only four occasions during his lengthy and accomplished career, at non-majors has Federer needed to withdraw from a match before it started. After securing a spot in his record eighth Australian Open final, and closing in on what would be a 17th major championship, Djokovic kept using the word"respect" while discussing Federer.
That completed a career Grand Slam of sorts for Djokovic, actually, with at least one mid-match retirement at each major: the French Open in 2005 and 2006 , Wimbledon in 2007 and 2017 , and the Australian Open in 2009 .
patz917 I love this guy. He is my hero. He has sent more African children to school than some governments on the continent. He is my hero on and off the pitch!