Swiss ace fights back to subdue Verdasco in tough opening game
Swissu00a0ace fights back to subdue Verdasco in tough opening game
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Roger Federer serves during his 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Fernando Verdasco in the ATP World Tour Finals yesterday. PIC/AFP |
World number one Roger Federer dug deep to begin his ATP World Tour Finals campaign with a hard-fought 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Spain's Fernando Verdasco yesterday.
Federer briefly faced the unpalatable prospect of a third successive defeat as Verdasco took the first set in commanding style.
But the Wimbledon champion, who had lost his previous two matches in Basel and Paris, edged a tight second set before hitting his stride to take the final set with ease.
Collecting his record-breaking 15th Grand Slam title with a dramatic win over Andy Roddick at Wimbledon just a month after landing his first French Open title guarantees that 2009 will always hold fond memories for Federer.
But the 28-year-old's surprise US Open final defeat to Juan Martin del Potro in September has left him keen to re-establish his supremacy by ending the year top of the world rankings.
Federer, who can still be replaced as number one by Rafael Nadal, has cut a lacklustre figure since that defeat to del Potro, losing in the Basel final to Novak Djokovic and then crashing in his next match against Julien Benneteau at the Paris Masters.
Verdasco, 26, is appearing in the Tour Finals for the first time after enjoying the best season of his career. The left hander reached three ATP finals, as well as making it to the Australian Open semis.
Andy Murray defeated Juan Martin Del Potro 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in his first match yesterday. "When I got close to winning at the end of the match, the atmosphere was excellent. That's going a make a big difference in the coming matches," said Murray of the capacity crowd on centre court at The O2.
