No.1 seed Roger Federer pulled one of the most impressive comebacks in Grand Slam history Monday morning, climbing from a two-set deficit to defeat Colombian Alejandro Falla 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 6-0 in the opening round of the Wimbledon Open.
Federer nearly got eliminated from the tournament on Monday when an unheralded Falla came out firing from different angles.
Falla, ranked 60th in the world, gave Federer a real scare after he took the first two sets of their opening match on Center Court.
Falla completely dominated Federer with flashes of solid crosscourt and baseline beauties that caught the reigning Wimbledon champion flat-footed.
Leading 40-0 at 4-4, Falla attempted to dethrone Federer and possibly the Swiss grass court era, when the miracle happened.
Federer opened up his bid for a tournament-tying seventh Wimbledon men’s singles title in a rather fashionable approach.
Dressed in a white Nike shirt, the Swiss Maestro walked elegantly on All-England Club grass, showcasing the class of a six-time Wimbledon champion.
However, beyond the unthinkable, Falla’s resounding opening set performance shocker happened.
Falla blasted serves that went faster than 120 mph. The Columbian also demonstrated solid all-around tennis, unloading great shot after great shot to take the set 7-5.
Falla, who lost to Federer twice in almost a month, had forced the former world’s No.1 to commit numerous errors.
The crowd, who obviously supported Federer, could not believe what they saw from a 60th ranked tennis player.
In the second set, Falla remained aggressive with his shots and the power of his serves were still hard to counter.
Federer tried to engage in long rallies with the Colombian, but Falla apparently came up with the crucial points.
For the second set in a row, Falla pulled off a set-clinching shot that certainly put Federer in an unlikely position for the first time since his teen years as a player.
Going down in the first two sets, it certainly looked gloomy for Federer while his opponent was brimming with confidence.
Downed 40-0 at 4-4, Federer, who never lost a first round match since 2002, was facing perhaps the most emphatic evidence that his era is coming to an end.
The Swiss Maestro then stepped up the accelerator. Federer rallied from the deficit and nabbed the set after a see-saw battle.
Federer dug deep in his bag of tricks, unloading an array of excellent shots to get ahead of Falla 5-4.
The Swiss nailed the set with a winner, prompting the crowd to applause the champion, which seemed to get his rhythm on.
Federer took the first game of the fourth set, however, Falla fought back to gain an advantage 2-1.
Falla and Federer went back and forth, but Falla had an advantage to close out the game with a 5-4 lead.
Federer responded to the pressure with another great rally that ended in a tiebreaker. The Swiss Maestro lived up to his standards and piled in big points in the tiebreaker over an exhausted Falla.
Federer escaped the fourth with a 7-1 tiebreaker win, and from that point on Federer unleashed full force to ultimately win an amazing match.
Federer produced 21 aces ad 101 unforced errors while Falla tallied 9 aces and 64 winners. The No.1 seed blamed his poor start and 40 unforced errors on his near meltdown.
Being a true professional, Federer treated the match as an eye-opener and insisted he got what he wanted.
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