Roger Federer topples Tobias Kamke in opening round of Roland Garros 2012: Tennis Special
World number three, Roger Federer, took down the German contender, Tobias Kamke, in straight sets at the French Open 2012 on Monday. He registered a 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 success against the 26-year-old to progress into the second round at this second of the four
Grand Slam events held in Paris, France.
The former world number one, Federer proved his class at this prestigious clay court tournament and ultimately carved out the victory in their first encounter. As a result, the Swiss not only advanced into the round of 64 but also levelled the achievement
of winning 233rd match at a Grand Slam event with the American legend, Jimmy Connors.
"I'm very happy, because Jimmy Connors was a huge champion and still is," Federer reflected after triumphing over the German, “I think that's a big one, because that was longevity. Jimmy is obviously one of the greats of all time. This is my 13th or 14th
French Open as well. It all started back in 1999 against [Pat] Rafter and I have hardly missed any Grand Slams... I have been so successful for such a long time and to already tie that record, 30 years old is pretty incredible, so I'm very happy."
The Swiss Maestro was charged from the start in the battle. He thundered into the Court Suzanne Lenglen and drew the first blood in the opening game to jump to a 2-0 lead. Despite squandering his edge in the fourth game, Federer wiped out the last four games
successively and clicked the opener with a 6-2 win.
Seeded third in the tournament, Federer swayed from the right path towards the follow-up set and tossed away his serve in the sixth game to fall at 2-4. However, he stayed focused and not only snatched his break back in the very next game but cashed in another
break chance in the 11th game to seal the deal by winning seven games to five.
In the third set, Federer’s skills were fully polished as he went on a five-game killing spree after the German held his serve in the opening game. In spite of losing his serve in the eighth game, the Swiss broke his rival’s serve once more and pocketed
the last set with a 6-3 score line.
All in all, the Swiss veteran spilled more unforced errors and produced a slightly lower first serve share of 59 per cent as compared to Kamke’s 60 per cent. However, he spectacularly marked 40 out of 60 points on it and smashed seven aces to rule the match.
The jubilant Swiss is on fire this season as he went on a 17-match unbeaten run which saw him lifting three titles on the hard courts. After taking the whole April off, he made a stunning comeback at the clay court season. After tumbling over several seeded
players, Federer lifted the Mutua Madrid Open, a Masters 1000 event held in Spain. He then made a semi-final berth at the Rome Masters before entering this Grand Slam.
Next in line for Federer is the Romanian challenger, Adrian Ungur, who upset Argentina’s David Nalbandian to set up this battle. Federer needs to carry his momentum in order to ease past the Romanian and reach far in this tournament.
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