Two years after upsetting seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras, Roger Federer was poised for another strong campaign at the All England Club. Roger lost to Mario Ancic in the first round in 2002 and got off to a better start a year later, especially after winning the first grass-court ATP title in Halle.
Roger got off to a winning start at Wimbledon after defeating Hyung-Taik Lee 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 on Court 2. Federer had to work hard in the third set to seal the deal and set up the second-round clash. round against his good friend Stefan Koubek.
Roger and Stefan played on center court, with the Swiss scoring a quick 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 victory in an hour and 17 minutes. Federer lost 22 points in 13 service games and had everything under control after the first match. The Swiss needed some time to find his rhythm in the opening set before beating the Austrian, dominating sets two and three and earning seven breaks while offering only three chances to Stefan.
Koubek got off to a promising start in the opener and built a 5-2 lead with just one break before Roger rallied back. The Swiss added the last five games and fended off a set point on serve at 3-5 to gain a huge boost that has taken him to 17 of the last 19 games and a place in the last 32.
There was a rain delay in the first set. Roger used it very well to get the game back from him and get the upper hand once they came back, leaving the opponent miles behind and setting up the clash against Mardy Fish. After the match, Roger spoke about the changes when moving from Court 2 to Center Court, praising the most famous tennis venue in the world.
“It’s a significant change from playing court 2 and suddenly center court.”
Murray praises King Roger
Present this week on the ATP 500 in Basel where he won when he entered the running against Russian Safiullin on Tuesday, Andy Murray, in an interview with Watson before the start of the tournament, expressed his admiration upside down with Roger Federer, especially during the last Laver Cup.
“I have known Roger for a long time, but I had never spent so much time with him. And I must say that I was amazed by the energy he displays. Training, interviews, then meetings with sponsors. Most players, myself included, find this tiring and have a hard time juggling it all together.
Roger, on the other hand, likes to be busy. This has already surprised and impressed me. Especially considering the amount of time he spent doing all of this.”
