Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic celebrate victorious comeback
Seven-times Cincinnati winner Roger Federer , like world number one Novak Djokovic, reached the round of 16 of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Ohio in Tuesday.
by Lukas Zahrer
last edit: Aug 14, 2019, 08:26 am
Federer was no stranger to Juan Ignacio Londero of Argentina with a 6: 3.6: 4 win. The game had to be interrupted for about an hour in the second set due to rain, but after 61 minutes of net play, the Swiss prevailed.
"I am very happy. It was a little tricky with the break, but it feels good to be back on the pitch. It is very different from the grass and sand pitches that we have seen in the past few months. It is the beginning of a long, long hard court season, "said Federer after his game.
It was Federer's first appearance after missing two match balls in the Wimbledon final and losing to Novak Djokovic.
"The conditions are very fast. We hardly had any rallies in the first set, it was just 'bang-bang tennis'," said Federer. "He played a good forehand that he can hide well with his grip. I've never played against him, so it was difficult to see his meeting point. It can be very dangerous on fast hard courts."
Federer will face either Stan Wawrinka or Andrey Rublev in the round of 16.
Cincinnati: Novak Djokovic beats Sam Querrey
A few hours earlier, Djokovic won his first game after the Wimbledon triumph against local hero Sam Querrey after a slow start with 7: 5, 6: 1.
At the last meeting between the two, Querrey beat the Serb in the third round at Wimbledon three years ago. This time Djokovic often had to fight for his service games, but ultimately won out after an hour and 18 minutes.
"The fact that I am the defending champion didn't affect me in any way. I just felt a pleasure to be back on the court," said Djokovic after the match. "I was a little nervous because I haven't played a match in four weeks. I made three double mistakes in the first game. It was an opponent with quality and a big challenge, so I'm happy about the win."
In the round of 16, the 16-time Grand Slam winner will play against Pablo Carreno-Busta, who, after a match point in the final tie-break, defeated John Isner 6: 4, 6: 7 (1), 7: 6 (6). Djokovic leads 2-0 in head-to-head.
More results from round 1:
- Daniil Medvedev - Kyle Edmund 6-2, 7-5
- Roberto Bautista Agut - Hubert Hurkacz 7: 6 (6), 6: 3
- Reilly Opelka - Borna Coric 4: 6, 6: 3, 7: 5
- Andrey Rublev - Nikoloz Basilashvili 6: 7 (4), 6: 4, 6: 2