Roger Federer is only 2 wins away from regaining his world no.1 rank, but he had to manage a difficult comeback in the Stuttgart opener against Mischa Zverev.
The match
The Swiss Legend lost the first set (3-6) against the German after conceding his serve in the 8th game (3-5). Things got extremely complicated for Roger also in the second set after he had to save 2 break points in the first game. After holding his serve, Roger broke Zverev in the 6th game (4-2) to give that break back soon after (4-3). Eventually, Roger found the solution in the last game after he broke Zverev at love (6-4).
Federer had finally a much more comfortable life in the 3rd set after he conceded only 2 games. The final score was 3-6 6-4 6-2.
It was a long break. FEDERER
Roger admitted that he had some rust to shake off to comment
“Three months out is a long time; it’s longer than the year-end break. I’m very happy returning on good terms on to the tour. It’s difficult, missed some chances maybe in the first set; he connected well at the right times. Then I found my rhythm.”
Federer is now only 2 wins away from reaching the final in Stuttgart and get back his rank no.1. The good news for Roger is that his next opponent will not be Denis Shapovalov that has lost in the 1st round.
| CHASING NO.1 AGAIN |
| Embed from Getty Images |
