Roger Federer is now just two wins away from clinching a return trip to the No. 1 ranking next Monday after making lightning-quick work of his ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament opener on Wednesday. Federer thrashed Ruben Bemelmans 6-1, 6-2 in 47 minutes while dropping a grand total of four points in eight service games.
The top-seeded Swiss, who needs only a semifinal showing to overtake Rafael Nadal and become the oldest-ever world No. 1 (three years older than then-33 Andre Agassi), fired six aces without double-faulting a single time. He is 24-6 lifetime in Rotterdam and in search of his third title at the 500-point indoor event.
“(It was) very surprising how good things went today,” Federer commented. “I think the key was to start off well and put Ruben under pressure right away and make him feel like he had to do something special.”
Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu3hJmJny7g
Next up for Federer on Thursday night is a 13th career contest against Philipp Kohlschreiber. The 20-time Grand Slam champion is sweeping the head-to-head series 12-0, including 2-0 indoors, 7-0 overall on hard courts, and 27-3 in total sets. The two veterans have squared off only once since 2015 (a 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 decision at the 2017 U.S. Open).
“It’s a different match, changing from lefty to righty,” Federer noted. “I just hope I can play a good match. It is a sprint to the finish. The beginning (against Kohlschreiber) will be crucial. You don’t want to fall behind; you want to stay focused all the way. Any lapses could mean that you get in trouble. But I enjoy playing against Philipp. I played really good against him at the U.S. Open so I hope I can keep that up tomorrow night.”
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