Federer Escapes With Victory in First Round

By GREG BISHOP

Published: June 21, 2010

WIMBLEDON, England — There was Roger Federer, less than two hours into his first Wimbledon match, already down by two sets. His face matched the monumental upset in the making, his mouth twisting, his eyes squinting, a mixture of frustration, exasperation and disbelief.

As Monday afternoon wore on, Federer rallied, then rolled, crawling from beneath a 5-7, 4-6 hole to capture the final three sets, 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-0. Federer entered this tournament aware of the historical implications only to find himself surprisingly headed for the wrong side of tennis history in the first round.

Opposite him stood Alejandro Falla, a Colombian ranked 60th in the world, a player Federer knocked out of the previous two tournaments.

Falla struggled with a groin injury throughout their match. He even called for a trainer on numerous occasions. Yet it was Federer who looked sluggish and sloppy, who dumped routine shots into the net and moved as if in slow motion. Falla did his part, too, serving sharply, laughing at the magnitude of the moment.

Federer finished off Falla in 3 hours 18 minutes, with a forehand winner he sailed cross-court. He looked more relieved than excited.

“I definitely got very lucky today out there,” Federer said afterward in a television interview. “I lost many matches this year that I should have won. This is one I should have lost.”

Federer entered the tournament aware, as always, of his place in tennis history. A successful defense of his men’s singles title will tie him with Pete Sampras for seven Wimbledon championships, a fact that Federer on Sunday said that he paid attention to.

Federer’s game has shown cracks since his triumph at the Australian Open in January. There, he broke his own men’s singles record, recording his 16th Grand Slam title. “Some of my best tennis,” Federer said of that performance on Sunday.

After the Australian Open, Federer said that he expected to speed off on a Federer-like tear, winning tournament after tournament, affirming dominance. Instead, he suffered from a lung infection in February and played five matches in three months.

“It hurt,” Federer said Sunday. “It was disappointing. But I think I found my game again in Madrid.”

But while Federer insisted that his performances at the French Open and the grass-court tune-up in Halle, Germany, had satisfied him, they also raised questions. Federer fell to Robin Soderling in the quarterfinals in Paris, ending his record streak of 23 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals. He also lost to Lleyton Hewitt in the final in Germany and lost his No. 1 overall ranking to Rafael Nadal.

Federer said he digested the drop in his ranking quickly, banishing any frustration from his mind. Nadal did not play at Wimbledon last year, so regardless of the results this year, Federer was not going to overtake Nadal any time soon.

Still, Federer’s issues did not appear overwhelming. They were nothing another run at Wimbledon could not fix. But while tennis commentators wondered if Federer could produce another championship — Brad Gilbert, for one, labeled Nadal the favorite — no one expected Federer would fall in the first round.

Because of his record at Wimbledon and on grass courts Federer received the No. 1 seed in this tournament. Only two No. 1 seeds have lost in the first round here since the tournament started in 1877, with Hewitt the most recent, in 2003.

Federer looked regal when he entered Center Court for the defending champion’s traditional first match. He wore an off-white cardigan sweater over the usual all-white outfit, his hair flowing from underneath a white bandana.

Everything seemed normal. There was Federer, waving to the crowd that showered him with a standing ovation. It was only Monday, the beginning of the fortnight.

For Federer, disaster started at 5-5 in the first set. On break point Falla attacked Federer’s famous backhand slice, moved in and sailed a well-placed volley out of reach.

Falla won that set, and the next one, too. He led, 5-4, in the second stanza, when the television commentator John McEnroe labeled the next game the “most important” of Falla’s career. He won it with a beauty of a backhand up the line on set point.

Federer came back, as expected, but Falla did not falter. Federer fought off a series of break points in the third set, eventually winning, 6-4, only to be broken by Falla in the first game of the fourth set.

Questions lingered. Could Falla hold? Could he continue to beat Federer, at Wimbledon of all places, with the significance of the moment placed firmly on his shoulder.