ATP Wimbledon: Roger Federer races past Richard Gasquet

An eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer is through to the third round at the All England Club for the 18th time from 22 trips to London. Federer took down Richard Gasquet 7-6, 6-1, 6-4 for his 19th victory over the Frenchman from 21 encounters and the 11th consecutive. Roger earned his 103rd victory at Wimbledon after a solid performance, especially in sets two and three, where he left the rival far behind after reliable performance on both serve and return. Nothing could separate the rivals in the opening set before the tie break, especially after early break chances wasted on both sides. Federer had more winners and unforced errors, searching for his strokes and surviving a massive scare in the first service game to avoid an early setback. The Swiss wasted a break chance in the opening game after failing to control his backhand, and the Frenchman had a massive opportunity to open a 2-0 gap soon after that.

Playing against three break chances, Roger saved the opening two with powerful serves and escaped when his rival netted a backhand to level the score at 1-1. Both players served well in the next ten games to set a tie break, where Federer moved 3-0 up with an ace down the T line. Finding his strokes, Roger landed a forehand winner to move 5-1 up and secured the set after Richard's double fault in the eighth point.

Roger Federer is through to the third round at Wimbledon.

With momentum on his side, Federer blasted 17 winners and six unforced errors in set number two to leave the opponent far behind. The Swiss saved both break points and stole the opponent's serve twice to grab the set 6-1 and continue his march towards the finish line. Like in the opener, Roger saved a break chance in the first game with a service winner and won four consecutive points on the return in the next one to earn a break and open a 2-0 lead.

Controlling the pace, Federer clinched another break in game four with a backhand return winner and landed an ace down the T line to race into a 5-0 advantage. Serving for the set in game seven, an eight-time champion fended off a break chance and wrapped it up with an ace. We saw four comfortable holds at the beginning of the third set and a break chance for Roger at 2-2. Richard saved it with a forced error and brought the game home with a service winner. Federer grabbed the sixth game with an ace and forged a 4-3 lead when Gasquet's drop shot failed to pass the net. Serving at 3-5, the Frenchman fended off a match point with a winner at the net before Federer sealed the deal with a hold in game ten.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3wamGAS