Flawless Federer enjoying unbeaten start to 2018

Defending champion Roger Federer was a happy man following his fourth-round victory over Jeremy Chardy at Indian Wells.

Published : Mar 15, 2018 11:43 IST

World number one Roger Federer revelled in his perfect start to the year after improving to 15-0 in 2018 following his victory at the Indian Wells Masters.

Federer's flawless year continued thanks to his 7-5 6-4 victory over Jeremy Chardy en route to the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The 20-time grand slam winner and defending champion was too good against Chardy as he reached the last eight without dropping a set at the ATP 1000 tournament.

Hyeon Chung is next up in a repeat of the Australian Open semi-final, which Federer won following the South Korean's retirement due to blisters in January.

And if Federer can see off Chung, the Swiss superstar will match his previous best start to a season when the 36-year-old went 16-0 in 2006.

"It's been great... But, look, it's a totally different year, many years after," Federer said.

"Felt like I found my range, my rhythm early in the year... So many years I felt good actually in Australia already. I don't know if it's Australia per se or taking the benefits from the hard work I put in into the new season.

"Then also Rotterdam was great. I was very happy that I was able to win the tournament there, not just get to the semis and get world number one. So that was nice.

"And here now I'm relieved that I was able to win three matches already. Because in a big, tough draw like here at Indian Wells, you're never quite sure what to expect. So I'm just happy I'm on a good run."

Federer, who is a win away from retaining the number one ranking, added: "You can't plan for these runs to happen. Either they happen or they don't. Sometimes you need a bit of luck to keep the runs going. And this year it's just been really good, solid matches.

"We'll see how long it lasts really. This might be the last day. So we'll see. It's just how it goes. Don't jinx it."

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