Roger Federer back from the brink to win Wimbledon opener
Roger Federer pulled himself back from the brink of defeat against Alejandro Falla to win his opening match at Wimbledon 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-0.
The defending champion lost the first two sets to his left-handed opponent before staging a comeback to avoid what would have been the biggest first round upset in the history of the grass court Grand Slam.
Falla will be left to rue lost chances as he contemplates what might have been – he served for the match in the fourth set – while Federer might just have received the wake-up call he needed as he launches his bid for a seventh Wimbledon title.
While Federer’s backhand did him no favours for most of the match, as the sets piled up it was his superb touch and that innate ability to rise to the occasion that sets the champions apart from their challengers that saw Federer turn the match back in his favour.
Federer may have entered his first round match with an imposing 4-0 record against Falla, but the Columbian wasn’t about to let that intimidate him as games remained on serve to 5-5 in the first set.
But with Federer serving in the 11th game, the almost unthinkable occurred: Falla constructed double break point, and though he netted what may well have been a winning passing shot on the first, he secured the first break of the match with the second.
Perhaps inspired by Lleyton Hewitt breaking a 15-match losing streak against Federer in the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle earlier this month, Falla served out the set to win the first set of his career against the 16-time Grand Slam champion and send ripples of shock around centre court at Wimbledon.
Those shockwaves started to register on the Richter scale when Falla secured the first break of the second set to take a 4-3 lead over the defending champion, who was struggling with his backhand and unforced errors against the world No. 60.
Tensions on centre court rose still further as Falla served for the second set and after saving two break-back points, and taking four set points to do it, the Columbian put away an easy volley to stun everyone in centre court – probably including himself – to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
After establishing his supremacy over Federer in the opening two sets, Falla called for medical attention to attend to what looked to be a groin injury, providing the Swiss with an opening to insert himself back into the match.
As Falla received massages at the first two changes of end in the third set, and his apparent injury problems started to affect his game, Federer still struggled to find a way to way to exert his influence over the match, as his opponent sought to limp over the finish line for the biggest victory of his career.
The most unlikeliest of upsets looked to be even closer to becoming a reality as Falla found himself with a triple break point chance with Federer serving at 4-4. Finally though, the top seed started to play like a defending champion, winning the next three points and saving one more break point chance for the game to deny his opponent the opportunity to serve for the match.
The very next game the world No. 2 converted the first of seven break point chances he’d had for the match to win the third set of the match 6-4.
Falla may have squandered a prime opportunity to make history at the end of the second set, but he wasn’t about to hand the match to Federer as he continued to rip forehand winners that would have made Federer himself proud, including one that landed him the break in the first game of the fourth set.
With no further breaks of serve for the set, Falla found himself serving for the match at 5-4 but as the sense of occasion seemed to dawn on him and he tightened up, Federer took the first two points of the game before at 15-30, a superb drop shot set up double break point for Federer. Falla’s eighth ace of the match saved the first of them, but the Swiss made the most of his second chance to break serve and level the set at 5-5.
As the set headed into a tiebreak, it was Federer’s ability to handle the big occasion that shone through as Falla managed just one point in the breaker as the six-time Wimbledon champion took the match into a deciding fifth set.
With Federer finally moving into top gear and the wind knocked out of Falla’s sails, the world No. 2 broke his opponent in the opening game of the deciding set, and then twice more to take the fifth set without dropping a game.
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