Wimbledon 2021: Roger Federer - It wasn't good, but enough
Roger Federer made it to the second round at Wimbledon in 2021 with a lot of effort and luck. An increase in performance is needed against Richard Gasquet.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
Jun 30, 2021, 08:45 am
Anyone who hired themselves in the tennis bubble on social media on Tuesday evening could get the impression that not only Serena Williams no longer plays a role in Wimbledon 2021. No, there was talk of the final end of the Williams era and that of Roger Federer. And that although the Swiss made the second round in the late afternoon. Not unhappy, as he himself explained afterwards. Opponent Adrian Mannarino was the better man on Center Court. The Frenchman had to give up at the beginning of round five.
Now the question of who is the better player in tennis is always an idle one: Whoever scores the last point in the match has all the arguments on his side. Even if the opponent cannot finish the game. However, Federer's performance was not significantly better than what the maestro had recently described in HalleWestfalen as not meeting his requirements. Federer was astonishingly passive, often content himself with the slice with the backhand, and rarely pursued his balls.
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Federer with great caution
That may have something to do with the circumstances. From a distance, the courts look lush green, but also downright slippery. No comparison, for example, with the conditions last week on Mallorca, where the Spanish early summer heat had made the places very dry. By the way, it is amazing how quickly Daniil Medvedev was able to adapt, the Russian was engaged in Santa Ponca until Saturday. And showed a very strong performance against Jan-Lennard Struff, who has been in London for a few days longer.
skywimbledon
Roger Federer, however, has shown great caution by appearances. The flow of movement is far removed from the years in which Federer hovered over Center Court. The appearance of Stefanos Tsitsipas showed that this does not have to be a question of age: The Greek, a finalist at the French Open a few weeks ago, moved across the green of Court 1 as if on raw eggs. Frances Tiafoe politely said thank you.
Favorite opponent Gasquet is waiting
The good news for Roger Federer: Round two is up against Richard Gasquet, who has rarely seen light against him. The two veterans have played 20 games against each other, Gasquet only won two, the last one was more than ten years ago. At that time, the French won on the ashes in the Foto Italico in Rome. Since then, Federer has not given a set against Gasquet, not even in the Davis Cup final in 2014, when the Basel bidder played his last international match for Switzerland - and with the success against Gasquet made clear the first and only title for the Swiss.
Speaking of which: The next question that needs to be clarified is whether Roger Federer will be wearing Switzerland's Olympic outfit again. The sponsorship contract with his supplier is very heavily endowed, but since the company is based in Japan, it is not inconceivable that even Roger Federer is persuaded to show himself in Tokyo despite all the adverse circumstances. The grandmaster has not yet made his final declaration. The focus is now on Richard Gasquet.
Here the single tableau in Wimbledon
wimmap