Roger Federer was already a long way clear at the top of the list of men with the most wins in Grand Slam singles matches, so becoming the first to 300 was not a major distraction.
He reached the milestone at Rod Laver Arena yesterday, when he moved into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Grigor Dimitrov.
“It’s very exciting, I must tell you,” Federer said of his latest record, adding that reaching 1,000 wins in tour matches last year was also a cause for celebration. “It was a big deal for me. Not something I ever aimed for or looked for, but when it happens, it’s very special.”
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Top-ranked Novak Djokovic had a match starting at the same time on a nearby court.
Djokovic — the defending Australian Open champion — took 25 minutes to win the first set against 28th-seeded Andreas Seppi, but needed almost an hour in the next two, saving two set points in the tiebreaker before winning 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (8/6) on Margaret Court Arena.
Djokovic has won five Australian titles and his victory maintained a streak of reaching at least the fourth round at every major since the 2009 French Open.
He said he was particularly wary of a third-rounder against Seppi, who beat four-time champion Federer at the same stage last year.
Seppi “is not overwhelmed by the occasion of the big courts, he knows how to play the big stage. He beat Federer last year here in the Australian Open, so he knows how to play big matches,” Djokovic said. “He’s very dangerous. I’m just glad to get through in straight sets.”
Kei Nishikori had a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over 26th-seeded Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and faces 2008 Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat fellow Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/4).
No. 15 David Goffin beat No. 19 Dominic Thiem 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-5 — his first win against a top-20 player at a Grand Slam. He faces a tougher proposition next: Federer.
Also, Gilles Simon of France defeated Argentina’s Federico Delbonis 6-3, 6-2, 6-1.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB