Federer overpowers Gasquet, Warwinka overwhelms Anderson

IT was a double victory celebration for Switzerland, as the Alpean country’s two top tennis players powered into the semi-finals. The first was 2015 French Open champion, Stan Warwinka, who defeated South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Not long afterwards, 2015 Wimbledon five-time US Open winner, Roger Federer, sent out Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

In the first set, Anderson served first and took the first point. Although he double-faulted in the second point, he won the next two and delivered an ace to win the game. Warwinka served powerfully to level, hitting a backhand ripper down the line at game point.

In the first five games, the two players won the first point, an indication of their powerful deliveries and short rallies. It was the pattern throughout the match.

Warwinka broke Anderson in the seventh game and was broken in the eighth. Thereafter, games went with serve and the Swiss took the first set 6-4. The score was repeated in the second. In the third set, it was Warwinka all the way.

Serving for the match at 5-1, Warwinka took three points in quick succession and after a serve that pushed Anderson off the court, he put an easy volley winner unto an empty court. Meanwhile, in the Federer/Gasquet match, the Frenchman won his opening serve.

Federer gave notice of his mission by winning his first service game at love. The third game was drawn out but Gasquet held serve to take a 2-1 lead. Roger took the fourth game with three successive aces and broke Gasquet’s serve to take the sixth game.

Down 0-40 in the eighth game, Gasquet fought back, hitting a backhand winner, then an un-returnable serve and an ace to deuce. On the third deuce, Gasquet hit a cross-court backhand that sent Federer wide and the latter attempted to hit the ball around the net post and missed to lose the game.

He took his serve to clinch the set by 6 games to three. In the second set, Federer broke his opponent’s serve in the third and ninth games to repeat the scores. In the third set, the Swiss tennis legend took the first three games.

The Frenchman dropped only one point in taking the fourth game, which drew a prolonged applause by the crowd. Federer held serve and took his opponent’s service game to lead 5-1 and served out the match with a service winner. The match lasted only one hour and twenty-seven minutes.

The stage is now set for a semi-final showdown between Federer and Warwinka, while World Number one, Novak Djokovic, will take on defending champion, Marin Cilic.