Roger Federer overwhelms Michael Llodra in the opening round – Dubai Tennis Championships 2012
Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, began his Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships campaign in style, ousting the 40th ranked Frenchman, Michael Llodra, in the opening round on Tuesday. The world number three, Federer, spent
just 67 minutes to wrap up the exciting contest in straight sets, 6-0, 7-6(6), to advance into the second round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 event in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
It appeared to be a totally one-sided affair in the opening set, with Federer absolutely demolishing the 31-year-old French opponent. The second seed Swiss blasted his way through the opening set, pocketing it with a bagel in just
20 minutes of play. It seemed as if Llodra will be outshined in the following set as well but a stiff resistance from the French veteran extended the second set a bit further. He dragged the match into a tie-breaker but his efforts didn’t prove enough to stop
the mighty Swiss from clinching the straight sets victory in the end.
"It's always great to start off a tournament winning the first set 6-0," said Federer. "After that, I really had to sort of make sure I controlled Michael as much as I could because I know he's a dangerous player. I think I was
solid. I could have served maybe a touch better. But still, I was never really in a whole lot of problems. Tie-breakers, as we saw, can go quickly either way, especially on a quick court like tonight. I hope I back it up day for day now."
The second seed Federer banged in seven aces and dropped just five points on his first serve, securing 21 out of 26 en route to victory. He nailed three out of five break points in the match, with Llodra utterly failing to register
even a single break point in the entire matchup. He had two vital opportunities but his error-ridden game play didn’t allow him to convert them to his advantage and he finished on the losing side in a dismal fashion.
Four-time winner of Dubai Tennis Championships, Federer, will face off against the unseeded Spaniard, Feliciano Lopez, in his next encounter to fight for a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament. Lopez dumped the other unseeded
French veteran, Nicolas Mahut, in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, in the opening round to book a date with the world number three. He will go one-on-one against Federer on Thursday.
Tags: