Federer Kicks off Roland Garros with a Bang

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Federer Kicks off Roland Garros with a Bang

By Chris Oddo

Roger Federer, Roland Garros, 2013 Round one

(May 26, 2013) -- Roger Federer opened his French Open campaign with a beatdown of Spanish qualifier Pablo Carreno Busta, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, sending a strong signal that the 17-time Grand Slam champion is intent on capitalizing on his fortuitous position in the draw this year.

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It was four years ago that Federer took advantage of Rafael Nadal's only loss at Roland Garros by completing his career Grand Slam with a shining victory over Robin Soderling in the final.

With Nadal slated for a heavily anticipated clash against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Federer appears to be buoyed by the fact that neither Grand Slam guru is habitating his half of the draw. He played like man possessed on Sunday, breaking the 21-year-old twice off the bat to race out to a 5-0 lead in the first set, and controlling the pace of play and dictating rallies throughout the brisk 80-minute affair.

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The youngster from Gijon, Spain, who had won seven consecutive futures events earlier in the year, never had a chance in his first career appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam.

Still, the qualifier can take solace that he isn't the first player to take a thrashing at the hands of Federer in a Grand Slam, and he did manage to remain competitive for much of the match, despite it being only his fifth career ATP-level event.

“I knew it could be tricky if I didn't sustain a certain aggressiveness,” said Federer afterwards.

He added, on his remote chances of winning the title this year: “Am I a favorite to win here? I don't care, because it doesn't give me any more opportunites to win the tournament. I just want to remain calm and let the storm go by."

Federer, as is the norm these days, did notch another Grand Slam milestone just by stepping his Nikes onto Court Phillipe Chatrier. He tied Stefan Edberg for most consecutive Grand Slams played, with 54. The Swiss maestro, if all goes according to play, will tie Wayne Ferreira for the alltime record of 56 when he plays this year's U.S. Open.

For now, Federer will have to busy himself with attempting to become the winningest male player in the history of Roland Garros. If he can reach the semifinals in Paris, he will pass Guillermo Vilas (58), Nicola Pietrangeli (58) and Budge Patty (55) for tops on the list.

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He certainly seems sharp enough to get there, despite a run of not-so-overwhelming results earlier in the season that have left him without a title. Federer converted on all seven of his break point opportunities against Carreno Busta, and he rained down 10 aces on the youngster, losing only 12 points on serve all afternoon, and cracking 33 winners to only 19 unforced errors.

Federer will next face another qualifier, Somdev Devvarman, who took out Daniel Munoz-de la Nava, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.

A Good Day for the Frenchmen

France, in search of its first French Open champion on the men's side since 1983, got things off to a rousing start, as Gilles Simon, Jeremy Chardy and Michael Llodra all passed their first tests.

Simon outlasted Lleyton Hewitt, 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-5, to give the Aussie a taste of his own medicine when it comes to comebacks from two sets to love. Hewitt, who has six times fought back from a two sets to love deficit in his career, couldn't hold the lead today as Simon powered past him 7-5 in the decider.

Simon missed on two match points then failed to serve the match out twice in the decider after building a big lead, but he was able to push through in the end, leaving a dejected Hewitt to contemplate his future at the most grueling Grand Slam.

“You fight for five sets,” he said. “Would have been nice to get a win. Frustrating. Will I be back here? Don't know. Haven't even thought about it."

Chardy took out Benjamin Becker, 6-4, 6-2, 7-5, while Michael Llodra overcame Steve Darcis of Belgium, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

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Other winners on the men's side were American Sam Querrey, who defeated Lukas Lacko of Slovakia, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Querrey, not known for his exploits on clay, reached the second round at Roland Garros for only the second time in his career.

"It feels great to get a win," said Querrey. "That was the best match I've played all year on any surface. It's cool to be the top American, but it's all about the world rankings. I feel good, and I played great. I was upbeat. My footwork was good. My decisions were good. I just hope I keep playing like this."

Denis Kudla, one of three American men to qualify for the main draw, was not so lucky. He lost in four sets to Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic, 6-2, 5-7, 6-0, 6-4.

James Blake also went down in defeat, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 to Serb Viktor Troicki.

David Ferrer, Milos Raonic, Andreas Seppi and Kevin Anderson rounded out a perfect day for seeded players on the men's side.

All told, seeded players went 8-0.

(Photo Credit: AP)