Federer to face holiday pal Marin Cilic: "It was great fun. No coaches, no nothing, just the two of us on the court hitting balls."
Thursday 24 May 2018 14:17, UK
Roger Federer sympathised with Hyeon Chung after the youngster withdrew from their Australian Open semi-final.
Chung retired with severe blisters trailing 6-1 5-2, meaning Federer remains on course to land his sixth Australian Open title and the 20th Grand Slam of his career.
The Melbourne crowd at the Rod Laver Arena booed as Chung exited the court but Federer, 36, defended his 21-year-old opponent.
"I thought the first set was kind of normal, I couldn't tell what was going on with my opponent," said Federer. "In the second set I started to feel he was getting a bit slower, fighting with the blisters.
"I've played with blisters in the past and it hurts a lot. At one point it's too much. It's better to stop. This feels bittersweet. I'm incredibly happy to be in the finals but not like this."
Federer will meet Cilic in Sunday's final in a repeat of last summer's Wimbledon final - when coincidentally Cilic was in tears because of blisters.
But Cilic is a player Federer knows well, with the pair having hit together while on holiday in the Maldives last summer.
"I was there first and he arrived later on the island," said Federer. "I was told that Marin was coming. I was like, 'Oh, that's cool'.
"When he arrived, I didn't want to bother him. He didn't want to bother me. After two days, he wrote to me: 'I'm here, too, in case you want to catch up and stuff, let me know'. I was like, 'Sure, let me know if you want to hit'.
"He was eager to hit because it's good to stay in the rhythm for both of us. We also met up later for drinks, I met his fiancee. We had cake together, my whole family and him. We had a good time.
"We actually went to practice twice for 45 minutes. It was great fun. No coaches, no nothing, just the two of us on the court hitting balls. It was just nice and laid back. To get to know the man behind the tennis player, I guess."
Chung was bidding to become just the third Asian player to reach a grand slam final after former Australian Open champion Li Na and Kei Nishikori.
The South Korean confirmed he had been struggling with multiple blisters for several days and an injection to try to numb the pain was not successful.
"It really hurt," he said. "I can't walk any more. I think I did the right thing. If I play bad on the court, it's not good for the fans as well. I'm happy to be able to make semis in a grand slam. I want to be stronger next year."