MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Gustavus alumnus Eric Butorac has advanced to the finals of the men's doubles draw at the Australian Open.
Butorac and doubles partner Raven Klaasen of South Africa advanced to the finals with a straight set 6-2, 6-4 victory over the No. 8 seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic on Thursday afternoon in Melbourne.
Butorac and Klaasen had to go three sets (6-7, 7-6, 6-4) to win their quarterfinal match against the No. 12-seeded tandem of Treat Huey and Dominic Inglot on Tuesday afternoon.
The victory over Huey and Inglot came a day after Butorac secured the biggest upset victory of his professional career when he and Klaasen took out the No. 1 seeds, Bob and Mike Bryan, in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4. The Bryan brothers were not only the defending Australian Open men's doubles champions but the most successful doubles team in the Open era with 15 Grand Slam titles, including six at the Australian Open.
Butorac and Klaasen will either face the No. 14-seeded pair of Lukasz Kubot and Robert Lindstedt or the No. 13-seeded team of Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut, in the men's doubles final. The men's doubles final is tentatively scheduled for Saturday night in Melbourne (early Friday morning in the United States). This will be the first Grand Slam final for Butorac in his 11-year professional career.
Butorac, a native of Rochester, Minn., has been ranked as high as No. 17 in the world in men's doubles. He has 14 ATP doubles titles to his name with seven different partners. His career at Gustavus included winning the NCAA Division III national championships in both singles and doubles in 2003.
Federer wins
Roger Federer, seeded sixth, arrived at the Australian Open with a new coach, Stefan Edberg, and a larger racket frame, and, for five matches now, he has continued to turn back the clock. His 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 destruction of fourth-seeded Andy Murray in Wednesday's quarterfinal was vintage Federer, circa 2004 or 2006 or 2009: a blend of sliced backhands and risks taken and hair flopped, with notes of confidence and hints of movement best described as silky or refined.
Speaking of good old days now here again, Federer's latest victory produced yet another meeting with his longtime rival Rafael Nadal. On Friday, they will play for the 33rd time.
