By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Roger Federer deployed his variety to deconstruct Alexander Zverev, 6-3, 7-5, and reach a Rome round of 16 match against Dominic Thiem.
Photo credit: Monte Carlo Rolex Masters
Smacking a forcing forehand into the corner, Roger Federer followed with an ingenious drop shot slathered with so much backspin, the ball slid back toward the net like a slinky.
Mixing his variety masterfully, Federer displaced Alexander Zverev with power and defused the hard-hitting German with finesse, scoring a 6-3, 7-5 victory in his Rome comeback match.
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In an inter-generational battle between sometime practice partners, Federer imposed his front-court skills. He won 15 of 20 trips to net and successfully dragged the 19-year-old German forward at times exploiting Zverev's inexperience at net.
All in all, it was an impressive return for the second-ranked Swiss, who raised his record to 11-3 on the season.
A lower back injury forced Federer out of Madrid last week. He looked fit and played fast today. Changing direction effectively and moving into the court fluidly, Federer scored his first win since beating Roberto Bautisa Agut in the Monte Carlo round of 16 last month.
Federer will face another talented young player, Dominic Thiem, for a place in the quarterfinals. The 13th-seeded Thiem needed just 65 minutes dismissing Joao Sousa, 6-3, 6-2, earlier today.
In Zverev's opening-round win over Grigor Dimitrov he tormented the Bulgarian's one-handed backhand return and nullified his all-court skills with deep baseline drives.
From the opening game, Federer altered the pace and employed the drop shot and slice to drag Zverev out of his comfort zone on the baseline. It's a tactic Federer used in the past against heavy hitters ranging from Marat Safin to Andy Roddick.
The four-time Rome finalist slid a forehand down the line and followed it up with a smash for break point. Federer flicked an outrageous drop shot return winner breaking for 4-2 as Zverev managed to make just two of six first serves in the game.
Federer won eight of the last nine points played on his serve to seize a one-set lead in less than a half hour.
Frustration was clear in the third game as Zverev bounced his Head racquet off the court and caught it facing break point in the third game. Federer broke on the German's backhand miss.
Serving up a break at 2-1, Federer misfired on a forehand into net handing the teenager a break point. Moving forward, Federer swiped it away with a leaping smash.
A backhand off the top of the tape skipped wide giving Zverev a second break point. Federer finished a sloppy game slapping a backhand into the middle of the net donating the break back after 51 minutes of play.
In the ninth game, Federer fired a forehand down the line right off the line for a break point. A drop shot attempted failed and Zverev worked though a demanding hold for 5-4.
Dancing around a backhand, Federer drilled a diagonal forehand winner for triple break point in the 11th game. Federer missed successive forehands on the first two break points then drew the German forward, but shanked a backhand pass. A backhand down the line gave the Swiss a fourth break point.
When Zverev sprayed a forehand down the line wide, Federer had the critical break for 6-5.
Zverev tumbled to the court leaving a wide swath of salmon-colored clay across the back of his white shirt on the first point of the 12th game. With his opponent teetering, Federer carved out a soft drop shot winner for double match point. Zverev missed a backhand as Federer closed a sharp victory in one hour, 27 minutes.