ATP Madrid: Roger Federer on sand comeback without problems
Roger Federer won his first match on sand since 2016. The Swiss won 6: 2, 6: 3 against Richard Gasquet, who didn't seem quite fit.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: May 07, 2019, 09:28 pm
Gasquet had contested his last tour match in October and was out of action for six months due to a groin injury. In round one, he had won against wildcard player Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in two sets.
Against Federer, the Frenchman was out of round from the start, the Swiss, who already had a 17-2 record against him, went straight to 3-0, another break he won the set.
Round two remained open at first, Gasquet now came closer to Federer's service games, but the 20-time major champ then struck 5: 3 and thus to the preliminary decision. After a total of 52 minutes of play, the match was over.
Federer was the much more aggressive player with 28:10 winners, even if he made 20 unforced mistakes.
In the round of 16, Federer now faces the winner of the game between 15-seated Gael Monfils and Marton Fucsovics, who will play their game on Wednesday.
Federer is looking for thrills
"It's the thrill, the uncertainty that appeals to you," the 37-year-old said a few days ago when he visited Switzerland . "It's also the beauty of tennis that it's not so static."
Federer also said that “it can be over pretty quickly.” After all, he only reported in Madrid and Paris. "My world would certainly not collapse then - despite all the ambition, the will to always want to win," said Federer, "I will do my best, as always."