Roger Federer: 'For the first match, I think I played well against Peter'
The 4th seed and five-time Indian Wells champion has secured the 63nd triumph in the desert, beating Peter Gijowczyk 6-1, 7-5 in an hour and 17 minutes for the place in the third round. Competing for the first time since winning the 100th title in Dubai, Federer hit two aces and six double faults to give Peter seven break chances, saving six of those and bringing the match home in no time at all after pulling a break back in set number two.
The German lost almost half of the points behind the initial shot, having to play against 14 break chances and suffering four breaks to end his journey in the second round, losing to Federer for the second time in as many matches.
Roger had 24 winners and 18 unforced errors, dominating in the shortest rallies up to four strokes to forge the significant lead that carried him over the finish line. Roger was off to a flying start, losing only two points on serve in the opening set and mounting the pressure on the other side of the net that Peter failed to match.
Federer held at love in the opening game with a service winner and the German was unable to defend serve in game two, hitting a double fault on the fourth break point to give Roger an instant lead. An ace (the ball was in out actually) pushed the Swiss 3-0 up and he secured another break when Gojowczyk sent a backhand long to increase the lead and move closer to the finish line.
After only 17 minutes, Roger went 5-0 in front with a service winner and wrapped up the opener with a service winner in the seventh game for a 6-1 in under 25 minutes. Struggling to find free points or rhythm with groundstrokes, Peter had to play against four break points at the start of the second set, repelling them all and finally creating something more serious on the return in the following game when he earned two break chances.
Roger erased both to keep his serve intact although couldn't repeat the same in game four when Peter broke him for a 3-1 lead, only to lose serve in the very next game to keep Federer in the set. Gojowczyk fired two winners to repel a couple of break chances in game seven and he had a tremendous opportunity to create the gap once again, with Federer playing against four break points in game eight.
Roger stayed composed, blasting four winners to save them all and closing the game with another beautiful serve&forehand combo for a 4-4. Despite a solid effort, Peter fell on the last obstacle, gifting Roger a break in the 11th game after a costly double fault and hitting the exit door when the Swiss held at 15 a few minutes later for the place in the third round.
"Well, I think I played well in the first set and he didn't, and then things go very quickly. The second set I think he saved some crucial break points, you know, with good serving. I think his serve picked up. I think I struggled a little bit with my serving in that second set and that gave him chances. I think because he was serving better, I think he started to swing more freely, and, you know, then it was tough. I'm really happy I found a way in that second set. It's normal to not quite find your zones sometimes on the serve, or whatever it may be because the ball flies differently here in Indian Wells than it did in Dubai again.
The conditions today are different than they were the last few days. The ball doesn't always exactly drop where you want it to be. For the first round, I felt really good. If I maybe would have served a little bit better, I think things would have gone faster. But in the end, it was a tough second set, and it's maybe also exactly what I needed. I don't know."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2SWcsjX
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