Roger Federer says that his 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 win over lucky loser David Goffin in the fourth round of the Australian Open reminded him of his Roland Garros debut in 1999, when he received a wild card and won the first set against Patrick Rafter, 7-5.
"It was like, okay, well, now I'm supposed to win in four sets, no problem," Federer recalled of the Rafter match. "He pushed much harder and further than I did. I lost without any chance in the second, third, and fourth. But [Goffin] really had a big chance. In that second set, obviously he was getting a bit tired, which is natural. But you always get a second wind sometimes in best-of-five set matches. Rain could have been in the area, so I had to really make sure I take advantage of his maybe minor slump. But he stayed dangerous till the very end, so I'm happy I'm through."