Australian Open and early hard court season
Brisbane International
Federer opened his season at the Brisbane International in Brisbane. His first match was in the second round against Jarkko Nieminen of Finland. Though Nieminen challenged Federer in the first set with some aggressive play, Federer ultimately won the first set and went on to win the next set, and the match, handily, continuing his undefeated record against Nieminen He next played Marinko Matosevic of Australia in the quarterfinals and swept him in straight sets under an hour, allowing only two games to Matosevic. Federer next played Jérémy Chardy of France, whom he had defeated in doubles earlier in the tournament, for the first time in singles in the semifinals. Federer won the first set after breaking Chardy, but Chardy matched Federer in the second set, forcing a tiebreak during which Chardy pulled away from Federer to even the match. The third set looked to be close, but Federer found a break near the end of the set and closed out the match in just under two hours. Lleyton Hewitt won in the final against Federer.Australian Open
Federer's next contest was the men's singles event of the 2014 Australian Open in Melbourne. His appearance at the 2014 Australian Open marked a record-breaking 57 straight Grand Slam appearances. He finished in the semifinals last year, losing to Andy Murray in five sets. Federer was be the sixth seed in the tournament, and began his tournament by playing Australian wildcard James Duckworth in the first round, breaking him four times en route to a straight-sets win. He then played Blaž Kavčič of Slovenia in the second round. Federer swept through the first two sets, but errors in the third set allowed Kavčič to force a tiebreak, which Federer won to close out the match. Federer broke him six times in total and won seven of the last eight points in the tiebreak to win his seventieth match in Melbourne.Federer played Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia in the third round for the first time in six years. He saved five break points and broke Gabashvili's serve five times en route to a straight-sets victory. Federer played Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in the fourth round, and won in straight sets. Federer found breaks in each set, including one at the beginning of the first set, and dictated at the net, using aggressive play to keep Tsonga at bay. With his win, Federer reached his eleventh consecutive Australian Open quarterfinal, and has now reached 41 Grand Slam quarterfinals, tying the all-time record held by Jimmy Connors. Federer faced Andy Murray in the quarter-finals and defeated him in four sets after missing several break opportunities and squandering two match points in the third set tiebreak. Federer lost to Rafael Nadal in the semifinals, in straight sets.Davis Cup World Group
Federer would make a shocking announcement stating that he would participate for Switzerland in the World Group, his first time doing so in many years. He along with compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka would help Switzerland defeat Serbia, defeating Ilija Bozoljac in his first round rubber. Federer's win would help Switzerland advance to play Kazakhstan in the Quarterfinals beating Serbia 3-2. After the shaky performance by Stanislas Wawrinka during the first two rubbers he was involved in, Federer won both his singles rubbers, being credited for the Swiss advance to the Semifinals.Dubai Tennis Championships
After playing in the Davis Cup Federer took a three-week break and returned to competition at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Federer won his opening match against Benjamin Becker in the opening round with ease, and faced Radek Štěpánek in the second round. After a solid first set by Federer, Štěpánek tied the match after winning the second-set tiebreak. Federer then climbed out of a three-game deficit in the third set, winning five straight games to seal the match. In the quarterfinals, Federer played his first match against Lukáš Rosol of the Czech Republic. After having his serve broken in the first game, he won the next six games to clinch the first set and held his serve in the second to win the match in straight sets in just under an hour.Federer faced defending champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, and dropped the first set to Djokovic. After a rain delay in the second set, Federer converted breaks in the second and third sets against Djokovic and won his first match against Djokovic in 18 months.Federer then played Tomáš Berdych, who had beaten him in the semifinals last year. The two exchanged breaks in the first, but Berdych secured another break and won the first set. In the second set, Berdych broke Federer again, but Federer took advantage of errors on Berdych's part to get two breaks and level the match at one set all. Federer claimed a crucial break in a tighter third set, and held the lead to win in just under two hours. Federer won a record sixth Dubai title and won his 78th career title, surpassing John McEnroe for the third-most titles won in the Open Era. The win also ensured that he would continue his streak of winning at least one title per year since 2001.Indian Wells Masters
Federer next played at the Indian Wells Masters in Indian Wells. After a bye in the first round, Federer played Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, and defeated him in straight sets, winning three break points and a second-set tiebreak. He then played Dmitry Tursunov of Russia in the third round. Federer and Tursunov both won two break points against each other, and Tursunov forced tiebreaks in both the first and second sets. Federer, however, won both of the tiebreaks, taking the match in straight sets. He then met Tommy Haas in the fourth round, and won in straight sets, though Haas kept the match close. Federer played Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the quarterfinals. In the first set, Anderson held off Federer on numerous break point opportunities, but Federer broke in the last game of the set to take the lead. Federer then jumped out to a five-game lead in the second set, and won the match in straight sets.Federer then played first-time semifinalist Alexandr Dolgopolov in the semifinals, and raced through the match, winning four break points and allowing Dolgopolov only four games en route to a win in just over an hour. Federer was narrowly defeated in the final by Novak Djokovic in a final set tie-break.Miami Masters
Federer next played the Miami Masters in Miami. He played Ivo Karlović in the second round after a bye in the first round. Federer broke Karlović early in the first set and, after holding to take the lead, defeated Karlović in the second-set tiebreak. Federer then cruised into the quarterfinals, beating Thiemo de Bakker and Richard Gasquet both in straight sets. However, in one of the tours biggest upsets, Kei Nishikori would improve his head-to-head record against Federer to 2–1, beating Federer in three sets. Unfortunately, Nishikori would retire before his semifinal match, most probably sustaining a groin injury during their quarterfinal meeting.Spring clay court season and French Open
Monte-Carlo Masters
Federer began his clay season with a wildcard entry into the Monte-Carlo Masters.Federer experienced great success during his second and third round meetings against Radek Štěpánek and Lukas Rosol, defeating both in straight sets. He then defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga from a set down for the first time in his career, in a match where he failed to convert any of his first 15 break points. He ousted world no. 2 and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, ending the Serb's unbeaten run in Masters 1000 tournaments dating back to the 2013 Shanghai Masters. He lost his fourth Monte Carlo final, this time to compatriot Stan Wawrinka.Mutua Madrid Open
Federer was seeded 4th, but withdrew from the tournament to be with his pregnant wife, Mirka. On May 6th, he announced that they became parents to twins again, this time boys - Leo and Lenny.Internazionali BNL d'Italia
Federer will next play in Rome at the Italian Open, where he is a three-time finalist, including in 2013. He is seeded 4th.
