TNT Sports
Federer through but tired
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Published 09/07/2004 at 22:06 GMT+1
Wimbledon champion Roger Federer played six sets in one day to book his place in the semi-finals of the Swiss Open. The World number one ousted big-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic 6-7 6-3 7-6 in a rain delayed encounter before dispatching Czech Radek Stepan
Eurosport
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In both matches, Federer mixed some sublime all-court tennis with unforced errors as his hangover from Wimbledon fortnight took its toll.
"Maybe I needed the practise," said Federer, who lifted his second successive Wimbledon title last Sunday when he beat American Andy Roddick in the final.
On a darker note the Swiss native revealed how fatigue is catching up with him.
"I feel exhausted now," he said. "Very tired. Six sets in one day is a lot -- I just hope I can recover."
Last year a similarly gruelling post-Wimbledon schedule had serious consequences on his form as the American season got under way. Following Federer's 2003 Wimbledon win his performances on the American hard courts went from bad to worse.
A semi-final eviction from the Canada Masters Series at the hands of big-gun Andy Roddick gave way to a second round exit at the Cincinnati Masters to David Nalbandian. The Argentine would also prove to be his undoing at the US Open.
Federer, 22, will meet Italian qualifier Potito Starace in Saturday's semi-finals. Starace, who will be 23 on Wednesday, beat defending champion and fourth seeded Czech Jiri Novak 6-4 6-3 in the opening quarter-final.
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