By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, June 27, 2016
"Naturally they're going to support him—rightfully so, because I think it's a very cool story myself," Federer said of facing 772nd-ranked Marcus Willis in round two.
Photo credit: Stephen White/CameraSport
A rousing ovation greeted Roger Federer as he walked onto Centre Court for his Wimbledon return today.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion gazed at the pristine lawn like a man seeing both uncertainty and opportunity in the field in front of him. Federer got right to work finding his footing.
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Contesting his 18th consecutive Wimbledon, Federer moved pretty fluidly, served with authority and slashed successive aces to close a 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-3 victory over Guido Pella in his first major match since bowing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals.
"I was very happy with the way I played actually," Federer said. "If I would have used my chances earlier in the first and second set, maybe things would have been a bit easier. But I think Pella did a good job of playing really good himself.
"It's an intense match. It's the first round. It's new grass. It's always going to be a tough match. I'm happy I made it in three straight sets."
There were some signs of rust seeping through an otherwise solid performance.
Though Federer more than doubled Pella's winner output (51 to 23) and fired 12 aces without a double fault, his returns weren't always precise and he converted just one of nine break points —an area he knows he must improve on as the tournament progresses.
"I'm looking forward to being here fully fit. We'll see if I am," Federer said. "Nobody knows not even myself we'll see as I progress, hopefully, in the tournament. It was a fun match. It was close maybe exactly what I needed I don't know I was just very, very happy to be there."
The third seed won five of the first six points in the opening tie break. An ace and a spinning backhand volley helped Pella saved three set points before Federer sealed the opening set.
Pella battled through a 10-and-a-half minute hold fighting off four break points along the way to open the second set.
Federer answered with a 67-second hold.
Serving at 5-6, Federer was two points from dropping the second set before reeling off four consecutive points digging out of a 0-30 deficit to force the tie break.
Lasering a backhand pass down the line for a 4-0 lead, Federer closed net quickly for a fine backhand volley down the line to earn four set points. He took a two-set lead when Pella's forehand expired into the top of the tape.
Federer's two hour, five-minute victory came against an opponent who has never won a grass-court match. Federer has seen just about everything in his storied career, but concedes he's never seen a story like British qualifier Marcus Willis.
The 772nd-ranked Willis, who has been teaching tennis lessons to amateurs for £30 an hour, played inspired tennis defeating Ricardas Berankis, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, in his first career Grand Slam main draw match.
Just six years ago, Willis' grandmother hired Brad Gilbert to give her grandson a lesson on Wimbledon's middle Sunday where the Winning Ugly author gave the left-handed Briton two pieces of advice: Attack your serve and get fitter.
Playing with calm control, Willis won a legion of fans today, including Federer.
"I have followed it actually before I even saw him in my section of the draw," Federer said. "I heard more about it. I think it's one of the best stories in a long time in our sport, other than Djokovic winning slams, you know, Rafa doing a good comeback, and Murray playing great.
"This is the kind of stories we need in our sport. I think it's a great, great story. I'm very excited to be playing him actually. It's not something that I get to do very often. I'm looking forward to that."
Typically, Federer is the Centre Court crowd favorite against anyone other than 2013 champion Andy Murray. He expects the 25-year-old Willis, who is the feel-good story of the tournament, to receive plenty of support from the faithful when they meet on Wednesday.
"But this match is different. It's picked up on momentum," Federer said. "People will hear about it. People will know about it. Naturally they're going to support him—rightfully so, because I think it's a very cool story myself. It's going to make the match difficult.
"I saw him play today. He plays well. It's not like he couldn't play. Otherwise he wouldn't be where he is. It's going to be interesting. Plus he is serve and volleying, which I love to see. He came up with some great, great shots.To beat a guy of Berankis' caliber in straight sets shows you how tough he is."
For Federer, each match is a bit of a fact-finding mission.
The 34-year-old Swiss had never had surgery until undergoing a procedure to repair his meniscus in February. He's still learning how his body will respond—and recover—from best-of-five-set matches with what he calls "the new knee."
"I mean, I haven't played five sets, you know, with the new knee," Federer said. "With every day that goes by, I get away from the back problems I had in Madrid and Rome, it's a good thing.
"Time heals a lot of problems, a lot of issues. It's another day, another step in the right direction. It gives me confidence as I hopefully move forward."