Practice makes perfect. That’s what Roger Federer said after his third-round defeat to Kei Nishikori at last week’s Mutua Madrid Open.
The Swiss’ words rang true on Tuesday evening at the Internazionali BNL d’Italiaas he blasted aside Italian wild card Potito Starace 6-1, 6-2 in just 51 minutes.
"It was a great first round, particularly against a local hero here," said Federer. "I came out and was able to play my game and dictate at almost every point. That was a nice feeling to have. It was a very clean match, it was good from start to finish. I felt good, I moved well. Overall a great performance. I hope I can keep it up."
The 31-year-old Federer is attempting to win the elusive Rome title for the first time in 13 visits.
Should he do so, he will be just three wins away from recording his 900th career victory, something only three other players have achieved: Jimmy Connors (1243), Ivan Lendl (1071) andGuillermo Vilas (924).
In beating the No. 293-ranked Starace for the seventh time in seven meetings, Federer lost only seven points on serve and broke the Italian four times. He goes on to face Gilles Simon or Mikhail Youzhny.
In beating the No. 293-ranked Starace for the seventh time in seven meetings, Federer lost only seven points on serve and broke the Italian four times. He goes on to face Gilles Simon or Mikhail Youzhny.
No comments:
Post a Comment