Federer moves into the third round

Roger Federer has so much more to defend than the points he gained as the returning champion of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters Cincinnati. The world no. 1 ranking which he has held since early 2004 is under threat from the long-standing no. 2 Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard’s five straight titles along with Federer’s disappointing results has closed the gap between no. 1 and 2 just 300 points. The Swiss could very much lose his ranking if he fails to make it into the semifinals.

On Tuesday, Federer was scheduled to play Robby Ginepri. With a 4-0 standing against Ginepri, his chances of progressing through this second round encounter are good. The top seed was the first to draw blood breaking Ginepri in the seventh game to lead 4-3. The American was quick to respond though breaking back to level the game. Federer broke his opponent’s serve again only to be broken in his next service game to force a tie-break. Ginepri commanded the tie-break 7-2 taking advantage of the poor service games of the Swiss.

In the second set, Federer had a number of early break points but could not convert any of it. The first break in the set was by Ginepri in the eleventh game to give him a 6-5 lead and a chance to serve out the match. However, the American struggled to keep his composure allowing the world no. 1 to break back and force another tie-break. It was much closer this time but Federer was able to keep calm and win the set to push for a third set decider.

Clearly disappointed by failing to close out the match and troubled by some stomach problem, Ginepri struggled to keep up with the Federer express. In just 22 minutes, the Swiss dismantled the American with his almost flawless service games (dropping a lot of aces and losing only a single point) and powerful ground strokes denying his opponent to win a game.

Results:

[1] Roger FEDERER (SUI) d. Robby GINEPRI (USA) 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-0

Next Match (third round):
[1] Roger FEDERER (SUI) vs. [16] Ivo KARLOVIC (CRO)