Roger Federer eased into the summer hardcourt season under the experimental guidance of new coach Paul Annacone on Tuesday, defeating posting a defeat of Juan Chela 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 to advance to the third round of the Toronto Masters.
More than five weeks after a Wimbledon quarter-final loss to Tomas Berdych, the Swiss player looked poised in his opening win of the hardcourt season.
Federer needed seven set points in a struggling 48-minute first set to take the lead against the 50{+t}{+h}-ranked Chela from Argentina, but his passage was smoothed in the second as his fluid game came to the boil.
“I’m glad to go through, I was a bit rusty in the opening match and he really made me play,” said the 16-time Grand Slam champion.
“But I’m very happy with how it went tonight.” Federer now stands 5-0 against Chela, winning 10 of 11 sets in their series.
Ninth seed Fernando Verdasco struggled in the first round to overcome Argentine Eduardo Schwank 6-0, 5-7, 6-2, while David Nalbandian backed up his Washington title of last week with a defeat of Spain’s tough David Ferrer 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
Off-court, 2003 champion Andy Roddick and Chile’s Fernando Gonzalez have put their U.S. Open preparation at risk as both withdrew through illness and injury respectively.
Soderling sees off Gulbis
In the second round, Swedish fifth seed Robin Soderling fought off Latvia’s young talent Ernests Gulbis for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win.
“The first match in any tournament is almost the most difficult one,” said the winner. “Ernests played very well today. He was serving huge and hitting the ball well. It was tough for me to really get into the match.” Nalbandian, now ranked 45 after beginning last week on 117 following a long 2009 hip surgery absence and further ensuing injury problems, spent two-and-a-quarter hours in constructing his victory.
He broke Ferrer six times, but lost his own serve on five occasions as he struggled for consistency.
“I played more offensive today and tried to end the points a little faster. He’s tough from the baseline without a lot of errors.” Nalbandian announced his return with his Washington success over Marcos Baghdatis. The win over Ferrer pulled the Argentine to 5-6 in the career series two days after claiming his 11th career trophy.
“There is no secret to my comeback, it’s tough,” said the South American. “Davis Cup in March and last week helped me to keep believing in my game and help my motivation.
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