Swiss master Roger Federer handed Australian apprentice Bernard Tomic a tennis lesson as he raced into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
Tomic is widely touted as the next big thing in the game but the record 16-time grand slam winner showed the 19-year-old he still has much to learn after brushing him aside 6-4 6-2 6-2.
It was a sobering evening for Tomic as his unconventional approach was picked apart by Federer, who was superior in every department.
Despite that, the first set was relatively close with both players feeling each other out before the third seed struck to break for a 5-4 lead which he backed up to claim the opener.
An early break in the second cemented Federer's position of strength and he began to toy with the young Queenslander, moving him round the court before delivering a number of stunning drop shots.
After a 28-shot rally which Federer won in game six, Tomic looked completely baffled, turning to his back-up team and shrugging his shoulders as if to say 'what can I do?'
Yet he kept on fighting.
He broke back only to relinquish his own serve as Federer battled hard to maintain the momentum
If there was to be an unlikely comeback, Tomic had to get out of the blocks quickly in the third set but instead he was placed even further on the back foot as Federer broke for 1-0 and then again for 4-1.
From there there was no way back as Federer moved through to a meeting with Juan Martin Del Potro, a 6-4 6-2 6-1 victor over Philipp Kohlschreiber.
'I thought I played a really good match,' said Federer. 'I knew I had to as anything else would not have got the job done tonight.
'I had to work extremely hard and Bernard showed why he is going to be a great player in the future.'
Here are the match highlights -----------
For the post match presser, see this detailed post -----------
http://www.rogerfedererfans.com/forum/topic/42-australian-open-2012/page__st__20#entry273
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