By Daily sports on June 6, 2021

Roger Federer found a way to beat Germany’s Dominik Koepfer in the French Open, despite being far from his best in a scrappy third-round match.

Federer, 39, lacked fluency and trust in his game before coming through to win 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 at a near-empty Roland Garros.

The Swiss 20-time Grand Slam champion clinched victory after three hours and 35 minutes at 00:43 local time.

He will play Italian ninth seed Matteo Berrettini in the last 16.

Berrettini, 25, reached the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time with a 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 6-4 win over South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo.

After hitting 52 winners against Kwon to continue a fine clay-court season, Madrid runner-up Berrettini will be widely considered the favourite against 2009 champion Federer.

Eighth seed Federer is playing in only his third tournament since January 2020 after two knee surgeries and says he is using Roland Garros to build up fitness for Wimbledon, which starts on his favoured grass surface at the end of this month.

Federer increasingly struggled against Koepfer, ranked 59th in the world, in a gruelling contest that lacked quality and was played in a soulless atmosphere without fans.

In a lengthy opening set, Federer was unable to clinch any of five break points – including a set point in the 10th game – before an untimely double fault from Koepfer helped the Swiss to nick the tie-break.

The ruthless edge appeared, eventually, in the opening game of the second set when Federer whipped a crosscourt forehand past Koepfer to convert his third break point.

Little separated the pair, who traded three more breaks in a row, during another close and cumbersome set. The solid Koepfer was able to draw unforced errors out of the erratic Federer, who also struggled with his usually reliable serve.

Federer’s demeanour became increasingly despondent after Koepfer broke in the first game of the third set and he looked to be waning physically as the German remained in control.

Somehow, the Swiss shifted the momentum back in his favour out of nowhere with a break back in the eighth game and, after missing a set point in the 12th, took the third tie-break.

The fourth set looked destined for another tie-break before Federer dug deep to pick up his level and win the final three games for victory.

But there were no fans to celebrate the moment, which seemed particularly stark when it was a player who has entertained packed stadiums for so many years.

“There are still a few people here, I don't know who they are: sponsors, journalists, my team too,” Federer said.

“I love tennis, I like to play. I might have been more nervous if the stadium had been full.” (BBC)

•PHOTO: Roger Federer

Source Daily sports

Posted June 6, 2021

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