Roger Federer moves into the second round of Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2011
Top seed Roger Federer opened his campaign at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships 2011 in style easing past India’s Somdev Devvarman by 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday.
Playing his first match after his semi-final loss at the hands of Serbian Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open 2011 in January, Federer proved too good for the SA Open finalist.
Playing in front of a packed centre court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium, Federer took a 4-2 lead in the first set when Devvarman double faulted at break point in the sixth game to hand a break to the Swiss maestro. Federer served for the set at 5-3 and did
it with relative ease, ending by hitting two big serves. The Swiss won 89 per cent of the points on his first serve.
Facing some resistance from his opponent in early part of the second set, Federer faced two break points serving at 1-2, but managed to save both. The Swiss then broke Devvarman in the next game and took a lead of 3-2. He broke again when Devvarman served
at 3-5 and wrapped up the match 6-3, 6-3 in just 75 minutes.
Federer, playing in Dubai after two years, hit four aces and as many double faults.
Commenting on his performance, Federer said, “I've had some tough ones over the years here actually in the early round. That's why I don't judge my first rounds too harshly or whatever. It's about coming through and giving yourself a second chance the next
day and then kind of move on in the draw. All in all, I think the result is fair. I was able to play aggressive and serve well when I had to, and it was a decent match.”
It was the biggest match of Somdev’s career. His Indian fans were hoping that their hero upsets the 16-time grand slam champion but Federer did not allow him the luxury and dismissed him quickly.
“Roger is my idol, one of the greatest players ever,” said Devvarman, who played a Top 10 player for the first time in his career. “I think he serves really well. I think it's very underrated how good his serve is. Because he does that, I feel like he puts
a lot pressure on you when you're serving.”
Federer next faces world number 53 Spanish Marcel Granollers in the second round who upset his higher ranked opponent Dmitry Tursunov in the first round.
Tags: