By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Gliding forward, Roger Federer bended a backhand volley dabbing the ball like a splotch of yellow paint into the corner of the blue court.
No one does transition tennis quite like the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
Watch: Federer's Top 10 Cincinnati Shots
Playing with creative clarity, Federer made a splash in his Cincinnati return sweeping Peter Gojowczyk, 6-4, 6-4, to score his 11th consecutive win at the Western & Southern Open.
"I felt good in that first match, to be honest, walking out, hardly any nerves," Federer said. "I think I knew what I wanted to do, what I had to do. Game plan is very simple. It's straightforward. It's fast-court tennis.
"I think center court plays much faster than the outside courts, so you don't have much time. Plus I knew Peter, 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. That's why you want to play aggressive yourself."
Contesting his first match since bowing to Kevin Anderson in a gripping five-set Wimbledon quarterfinal on July 11th, Federer looked fit, played fast and produced some fine racquet work.
Firing his first serve with accuracy and ambition, Federer hit 12 aces, dropped only eight points on his first serve and denied all five break points he faced raising his record to 30-4 on the season.
"It was a great pleasure to be back," Federer said. "I enjoy playing here because of my success, even more so, but I have always enjoyed coming here to Cincinnati, and now we do it as a family. That adds a different twist to it. Feels almost like I have had two careers, the one before and the one after. I'm having a great time and I'm very happy to be back."
The seven-time Cincinnati champion will face Leonardo Mayer for a quarterfinal spot.
The 31-year-old Mayer saved all six break points he faced stopping 16th-seeded Lucas Pouille, 7-6 (7), 6-4.
In his first match as a 37-year-old, the father of two sets of twins controlled the center of the court and managed the match with clarity.
There were some signs of rust.
Federer faced two break points in his opening service game and three more break points in the eighth game when he fought back from 15-40 to hold for 5-3.
Each time he was tested, Federer had an authoritative answers.
Varying deep drives with sharp-angled slices, Federer forced the flat-hitting German to counter on the run from awkward spots on the court. The Swiss stylist mixed the height of his shots drawing a cluster of errors earning the lone break of the opening set for 3-2.
The early break evoked some free-flowing Federer service games.
Crunching a crisp serve-forehand combination, Federer followed with the serve and backhand volley into the corner before blasting an ace backing up the break with a love hold.
Streaking through a love hold, the Swiss stretched the lead to 4-2.
Federer stamped three love holds in his final four service games of the opening set.
Streaking forward behind a second serve, the Swiss knifed a low backhand volley into the corner serving out the opening set at love. A forward-thinking Federer won eight of nine trips to net in the opener.
The 47th-ranked Gojowczyk plays flat and fast and when he's finding the sweet spot, he can be dangerous. But the powerful German hits so flat, there's little margin for error on his drives.
A double fault and scattered backhand gifted the break to Federer in the opening game of the second set.
The Australian Open champion never looked back, wrapping up a 71-minute victory.
"I feel like I'm in a good rhythm," Federer said. "Regardless if I win or I lost, you know, I felt like I'm doing the right things. I couldn't have worked harder, you know, in the practice, on the practice court. I couldn't have done more in the gym. Didn't have any setbacks.
"I'm only feeling better every day that has gone by after Wimbledon. So it's nice to have played a match so my last match is not the Anderson match, so you've kind of turned the page, I guess, in that regard. It's a good thing."
Federer did not face a break point in the second-set raising his hard-court record to 18-2 on the season.
The five-time US Open champion is aiming to sharpen his game through the repetition of match play before Flushing Meadows later this month.
The goal is now to recover from this match, take the positives with me, and it's just nice to have sort of a day and a half where you can prepare for the next one, and you're really in the tennis tournament again and away from the practice sessions," Federer said. "And then of course the big goal is the US Open. That's got to be the goal now after not having perfect, you know, situations the last couple of years there."