Federer into Australian Open final after Chung retires

TIL Desk Sports/ A ruthless Roger Federer handed wounded Chung Hyeon an old-fashioned schooling before the South Korean quit with blistered feet trailing 6-1, 5-2 in a damp squib of an Australian Open semi-final on Friday.

Federer was detained for only 62 minutes under the Rod Laver Arena roof as he set up a final against Croatia’s Marin Cilic who pummelled another young gun, Kyle Edmund, on Thursday.

It is the sixth time Federer has reached a Grand Slam final without dropping a set — the most recent at Wimbledon last year when he beat an injured Cilic in the final.

Although happy to conserve energy for Sunday’s final, and even make it out in time for a spot of dinner, the 36-year-old defending champion said it had been a ‘bitter sweet’ victory.

“I must admit, you do take the faster matches whenever you can because there’s enough wear and tear on the body,” Federer told reporters. “When they happen, you take them. “I’m just happy I’m in the final, to be honest. That was the goal before the match today. Not under the circumstances I was hoping to (reach the final)… “