Roger Federer is back on track.
The top-ranked player got by one of his most challenging opponents on Tuesday, beating Guillermo Canas 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the Rome Masters.
Perhaps more importantly, Federer said he has finally caught up on the court time he lost after being diagnosed with mononucleosis earlier this year and piling up a string of losses.
PHOTO: AP
“I think I was lacking matches at one stage, when I lost in the first round of Dubai. Now, I’m again back in my stride and feel like I’m playing well and nothing ever happened,” Federer said. “It was a tough couple of months early on.”
Also on Tuesday, Andy Roddick defeated Mardy Fish 6-1, 6-4 in an all-American matchup to get his clay-court season off to a solid start.
Roddick’s only other match on clay this year was a Davis Cup win over Austria’s Jurgen Melzer in February.
“It’s OK,” Roddick said of his feeling on clay. “I only have one match to judge it on and that’s this one, so I guess it’s good.”
In first-round play, 2001 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero rallied past Nicolas Kiefer 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 to set up a meeting with three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal.
Also, 14th-seeded Tommy Robredo defeated Juan Ignacio Chela 6-4, 6-1, Jose Acasuso eliminated Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-2, and Croatian wild card Mario Ancic dispatched Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4.
Three seeds were upset in the first round on Tuesday. No. 11 Carlos Moya was eliminated by fellow Spanaird Fernando Verdasco, 6-3, 6-4; Frenchman Gilles Simon beat his 10th-seeded compatriot Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (6); and Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic defeated 15th-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Besides the loss to Andy Murray in Dubai, Federer was also beaten by Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals, then fell to Fish and Andy Roddick in his last two tournaments before the clay-court season.
Federer opened his clay campaign by entering the Estoril Open in Portugal for the first time in his career. He won the tournament for his first victory this year, the longest he’s waited for a victory in nine years.
A week later, Federer reached the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, losing in straight sets to Nadal after surrendering a 4-0 lead in the second set.
“I won in Estoril and beat [David] Nalbandian, Djokovic and [Gael] Monfils in Monte Carlo, and played a good final against Nadal, so I’m on a good run on clay,” Federer said.
Canas defeated Federer twice early last year and was one of the few players with a winning record against the Swiss player. The pair are now tied 3-3 in career meetings.
“Guillermo in the [second] round was tough. We’ve had some tough ones in the past, so I knew it was going to be difficult,” Federer said.
All five of Federer’s previous meetings with Canas had came on hard courts. This tournament is a key clay-court tuneup for the French Open, which begins on May 25.
“I guess he grew up on clay like I did,” Federer said. “Who knows? Different times, different results. This was a good match to start off the Rome campaign.”
Canas relied on his speed to simply keep the ball in play and force Federer into mistakes. Federer committed 27 unforced errors to 13 for Canas, but led 34-10 in winners.
Federer also had eight aces, and had several drop-shot winners.
Federer began working with clay-court guru Jose Higueras in Estoril, and Switzerland’s Davis Cup captain, Severin Luthi, is offering him some help this week.
“Severin watched [Canas] yesterday and we all know he plays very far behind the court, so I tried [a drop shot] once and it worked, then I tried it a few more times and it worked even better,” Federer said.
Roddick improved his record against his longtime friend Fish to 8-1.
“It’s tough playing against someone you’re friends with, and unfortunately for Mardy I’ve played some good tennis throughout my career against him,” Roddick said.
Roddick led the US to a win over France in the Davis Cup quarter-finals nearly a month ago and hadn’t played since.
“I’ve been training at home, but it’s never really the same as an actual tournament atmosphere, especially coming from American clay courts,” Roddick said. “It’s good to get through the first one, so at least you’re getting some matches in.”
See stories on page 18
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday pulled off a major upset in the DFB-Pokal by defeating defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen 2-1 in their semi-final. The third-division team came from behind after Jonathan Tah gave the visitors a 17th-minute lead. Marius Worl replied three minutes later and Maximilian Groser scored Bielefeld’s second goal just before the break. The home team looked more likely to add to that tally as the Leverkusen players looked jaded. “I’m just proud of this team,” Bielefeld coach Mitch Kniat said as most of the fans the small stadium sang around him. “No one will sleep in the city tonight.” Patrik Schick went
Marcus Rashford’s first goals for Aston Villa on Sunday inspired a 3-0 win against Preston North End that sent his side into the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in 10 years. Rashford struck twice in the second half at Deepdale to end Preston’s stubborn resistance before Jacob Ramsey wrapped up Villa’s long-awaited return to the last four. Villa are to face Crystal Palace — 3-0 winners at Fulham on Saturday — in the semi-finals at Wembley Stadium in London. Revitalized since joining Villa on loan from Manchester United during the January transfer window, Rashford is beginning to show the form that
RSS