Federer cruises towards Australian Open with victory

Roger Federer took another impressive step towards his Australian Opentitle defence yesterday with a straight-sets win over Russian KarenKhachanov at the mixed teams Hopman Cup, as many of his main rivalsfaltered due to injury.Around the time Federer was warming up for his match with the45th-ranked Russian, Andy Murray announced he was pulling out of theBrisbane International, while Novak Djokovic a few days earlier withdrewfrom his season opener in Abu Dhabi.Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori are alsounder injury clouds, while world number eight Jack Sock succumbed to ahip problem earlier in the day in Perth, forcing him to retire from hissingles match.But there were no such dramas for the elder statesman Federer, who 12months ago stunned the tennis world by ending an almost four-year GrandSlam drought with a victory at the Australian Open, after also preparingat the Hopman Cup.The 36-year-old was too good for Khachanov, making it two straight-setswins from as many singles matches this week as Switzerland beat Russia3-0 in their Group B tie in front of a record Hopman Cup crowd.Federer was stretched by Khachanov, particularly in the second set when the pair traded powerful groundstrokes.The Russian held a set point in the tie-breaker and also saved two matchpoints held by Federer, before the Swiss champion prevailed afterKhachanov hit a forehand perilously close to the line.It was called in by the linesman, but Federer challenged and wasrewarded when replays showed the ball was out by millimetres, handingthe 19-time Grand Slam champion a 6-3, 7-6 (8) win.“I thought the intensity was great and the level high too,” Federer said.“It was a good match overall and I was happy with my performance.”The 74-ranked Belinda Bencic, on the comeback trail after injuriesstalled her promising career, then upset world number 15 AnastasiaPavlyuchenkova in three sets, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in just under two hours toclinch the tie for the Swiss.In the dead mixed doubles rubber, the Swiss completed a clean sweep with a three-set win under the Fast4 format.Pat Cash’s returnBoth Switzerland and the United States’ pairing of Sock and CoCoVandeweghe, who beat Japan 2-1 in contentious circumstances earlier inthe day, have won their opening two ties.The victor in their clash tomorrow will advance to Saturday’s final and Federer said he expected Sock to be fit for that tie.Sock retired early in the second set of his men’s singles clash withJapan’s Yuichi Sugita, having injured his hip during a first settie-breaker.The Group B tie ended with an exhibition mixed doubles match featuringthe return of 52-year-old former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash to thecourt to team with Vanderweghe, who he coaches.Cash also played in the inaugural Hopman Cup in 1989.Prior to Sock’s injury, Japan’s Naomi Osaka had withdrawn from her singles match with Vandeweghe due to illness.The end result of the injury and illness for both sides was the UnitedStates being given an intriguing 2-1 win, as Japan was ruled to haveforfeited the women’s singles and mixed doubles before the Sock injury.However, the fitness of Sock for the remainder of the tournament, andmore importantly the upcoming Australian Open, was in doubt after helimped off the court.Vandeweghe and Sock were beaten by the French team of Kristina Mladenovic and Richard Gasquet in last year’s decider.