After being pushed to 5 sets, Roger Federer got to play Xavier Malisse, someone Roger has known since he was a teenager.  Roger has generally fared very well against his generation of players, whether it be Andy Roddick or Jurgen Melzer or Lleyton Hewitt or, indeed, Xavier Malisse.   Although Malisse was able to break Federer a few times, Federer kept his nose out ahead, and once he captured the second set, it was only a matter of time before he secured the straight-set win.  Federer was so relaxed that he took a shot that barely cleared the net, and lofted a lob over Malisse’s backhand side.  Malisse attempted the backhand overhead which Federer volleyed and won the point.

Federer reminisced about playing Malisse as a pre-teen.  He was asked by Jim Courier who his idols were, and he said “Xavier Malisse” who apparently drop-shotted and lobbed him when they were 12.  Courier then asked who his pro idols were and he said Edberg and Becker, and later Sampras, i.e. players that came to net.  Courier said that Federer had now won more singles matches at the Australian Open than anyone, and broke Edberg’s record, which he was a little bemused by.

Thomas Berdych appears to be righting the ship that left his game at the some what indifferent state it’s been since Wimbledon by beating Richard Gasquet in straight-sets.  Berdych is sneaking through a draw where he’s yet to play a truly tough player.

Three Spaniards are looking to get their careers back on track.  Verdasco had as solid a clay season as you could have when every other player is vying for second place behind Nadal.  Verdasco played so many clay tournaments leading up to the French that he didn’t have such a great French Open, and it lead to an indifferent hardcourt season where Verdasco is certainly no slouch.  Verdasco played Kei Nishikori, the best Japanese player since, well Shuzo Matsuoka, the grass court specialist.  Nishikori couldn’t handle the Verdasco power.  Fernando must be happy to play a straight set match after nearly being sent packing by Janko Tipsarevic.

Verdasco lost to Nicolas Almagro in the French Open.  Almagro is another player that occasionally sees sparks of brilliance but doesn’t seem to be able to sustain it.  Almagro beat the veteran, Ivan Ljubicic, in straight-sets.

Tommy Robredo’s star was once a bit brighter than it is now.  Robredo was pretty much nowhere in 2010, so his win over tricky Russian, Sergiy Stakhovsky has to be good news.  Robredo lost in the first round 3 of 4 Slams.  His best showing last year was a fourth round at the US Open.  The US Open, interestingly enough, is Robredo’s most consistent Slam where he routinely gets to the fourth round.  However, he has done just a bit better at the French, reaching the quarterfinals four times.  Alas, Robredo’s next opponent is Roger Federer.  Federer is 9-0 over Robredo.  They’ve met rather infrequently late, the last 3 times in Slams, and the last time in 2009, at the US Open.

Stanislas Wawrinka has yet to drop a set.  He beat Gabashvili in the first round, then “baby Federer”, Grigor Dmitrov in the second round, and then Gael Monfils in the third round.  That’s a pretty solid win considering Monfils recent success on the hardcourts (beating Roger Federer at the semis in Paris).

Andy Roddick finally got past Robin Haase.  Haase, apparently, tweaked his ankle, and started going for his shots.  Haase took the first set, then Roddick started holding serves and playing more aggressive himself.  Once Roddick took the second set in a tiebreak, which he partly credited two double-faults by Haase.  At that point, Haase’s level went down some and Roddick kept his edge.  Roddick says there’s always danger playing a guy ranked in the 60s, but usually, there’s some problem with their game, otherwise they’d be ranked higher, and it was just a matter of keeping in the match and letting his superior experience carry the day.

This sets up a few interesting fourth round matches.  Berdych plays Verdasco.  Berdych has the better head-to-head record, 6-4, over Verdasco.  Verdasco’s wins have twice on clay, once on grass (at Wimbledon), and once on hard courts.  Berdych has beaten Verdasco on clay, but the majority of his wins are on hardcourts.  Berdych will at least have some confidence playing someone he has a good record against.

Djokovic faces Almagro.  They’ve only played once at the main ATP tour level with Almagro retiring on clay in 2008 at Rome.  Djokovic has not been pushed too much so far, which is good for him, considering how badly he tends to deal with the Australian Open heat.  Djokovic generally gets to the quarterfinals of the Australian, but is looking to reach the semifinals, something he hasn’t done in a few years.

Andy Roddick has a funny record against Stan Wawrinka, his next opponent.  He is 1-2 against Wawrinka, but his two losses have both been retirements.  His only win was a Davis Cup match which he won.  Roddick will probably be slightly favored, but Wawrinka has been playing good ball, so I expect the match to be a tough one for both players.