Federer off to fast victory; Kvitova ousts Williams
Roger Federer began his US Open preparation with a quick 6-4, 6-4 win over Peter Gojowczyk yesterday morning (Singapore time) in his first ATP Cincinnati Masters appearance since 2015.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, who turned 37 last week, is pacing his tennis year, playing a limited schedule and skipping events when he feels the need to rest.
He has missed the last two editions of this tournament because of injury.
Federer's defeat of the 47th-ranked German in 72 minutes marked his first step towards a possible eighth title at the tournament.
"I felt good in that first match, to be honest, walking out, hardly any nerves.
" I knew what I had to do," Federer said.
"It's fast-court tennis. I knew my opponent was going to go for it and take big cuts at the ball. So there is only so much you can really do.
"The goal is now to recover from this match, take the positives with me. Of course the big goal is the US Open."
The contest was the first for the Swiss since losing to Kevin Anderson in five sets in the Wimbledon quarter-finals on July 11.
Weekend Toronto finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas tired late in a 7-5, 6-3 loss to Belgian 11th seed David Goffin.
In the women's draw, eighth seed Petra Kvitova used her precision serve to overpower Serena Williams 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in their second-round match.
The second set of the Kvitova-Williams contest was significant for Williams because it was her first set win this season against a top-10 opponent.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion won her first-round match over Daria Gavrilova 6-1, 6-2 on Monday, but appeared to run out of gas in the third set against Kvitova.
"I'm still at the very beginning. You know, this is a long comeback," Williams said.
" I just began. Definitely at the very, very beginning. - AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
