Kimiko Date-Krumm, 42, calls longevity ‘a miracle’

Federer has already won 17 Grand Slam trophies, including four at the Australian Open.

The celebrated Swiss star was hailed as “the maestro” by the center court announcer after he beat Bernard Tomic in straight sets.

At 6-foot-5, and armed with a huge serve, the 22-year-old Raonic is regularly mentioned as an up-and-coming player to watch. He’s played Federer three times and lost all of them.

“I’ve had my three shots against him, and I look forward to the fourth,” Raonic said.

Federer said he expected a close match.

“I’ve had some tough matches with him in the past,” Federer said. “Some of them I should have lost.”

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IN PRAISE OF GUSSIE: Serena Williams paid tribute to Gussie Moran, the trailblazing tennis star who scandalized Wimbledon in 1949 by wearing a tennis skirt above her knees and lace-trimmed underwear.

The 89-year-old Moran died Wednesday in Los Angeles.

Williams, the 15-time Grand Slam winner, who has a flair for on-court fashion, said it was women like Moran who paved the way for how female athletes can dress today.

“When you look at the history of tennis, especially Wimbledon, you see these women wear these long gowns,” said No. 3-seeded Williams, gesturing toward her feet. “I don’t know how they could have possibly played in that.”

As a 25-year-old at Wimbledon in 1949, Moran made jaws drop and flashbulbs pop when she showed up for her first match minus the knee-length skirt considered proper for women at the time. She lost the match, but her striking fashion statement appeared on magazine covers around the world.

The British press dubbed her “Gorgeous Gussie.”

Once ranked as high as fourth in the United States, Moran never achieved great fame for her tennis.

Top-ranked Victoria Azarenka of Belarus said she had never heard of Moran. And Williams said she knew “the name Gussie” but needed a reminder about her legacy.

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