Roger Federer through to Australian Open final after Chung retires with BLISTERS
ROGER FEDERER is through to the Australian Open final after Chung Hyeon retired in the semi-final due to blisters.
Federer was a set and a break up in the semi-final on the Rod Laver court before Chung pulled out due to sore feat.
He took a medical time out during the second set and had to call it a day at 6-1 5-2 down.
Federer will now face Marin Cilic on Sunday in the final as he looks to secure his 20th Grand Slam title.
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Federer was romping to victory before Chung had to pull out with pain.
The world No 2 was sympathetic admitting he knew something was wrong at the start of the second set.
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"I thought the first set was normal. I couldn't tell what was going on with my opponent," Federer said.
"In the second set I felt he was getting slower. He's had a problem with the blister. It hurts - a lot. At some point it's too much and you make things worse.
"Clearly I'm happy to be in the final but not like this. He's had such a wonderful tournament."
But Federer was very positive about his opponent and has backed him to reach the top 10.
“Fighting was a problem today,” he said. “I could tell something was wrong, but he has a great composure.
"I think he's going to achieve next level excellence - top 10 for sure.
"I can see why he beat Novak (Djokovic) and Sasha (Zverev). He's going to be a great, great player."
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Federer goes in search of a stunning 20th Grand Slam title on Sunday and hopes to defend the Australian Open which he won 12 months ago.
But he admits Cilic is dangerous and will be better than their last meeting.
"We saw it against Rafa and Edmund - he brings power and everything," he said.
"He's a really nice guy. He had similar problem as Chung in the final at Wimbledon.
“It will help him that he's had two days off and he hasn't had to come through a tough semi-final.
“We'll see a fresh Marin. He believes he can come this far, he will go far.
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"We actually saw each other on vacation in the Maldives a couple of months and we played together.
“We were both looking for a hitting partner!"
And asked on court about how he keeps all his trophies in order, he opened up on his trophy cabinet.
“I have most of them at home,” he said of his trophies.
“Not all of them. I have a nice trophy cabinet. Sometimes I go through it and think 'wow' and sometimes I'm like 'it's just tennis'.
“When we have friends round it's cool to look at Olympic medals and trophies. It's something I've worked very hard for."
