Federer leaves arena in a better place
MELBOURNE, Australia — The last time Roger Federer played at Rod Laver Arena, he left in tears after losing the Australian Open final to Rafael Nadal a year ago.
There were no such waterworks today, just a few tense moments for the Swiss star seeking his 16th Grand Slam title in a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-0 first-round win over Igor Andreev of Russia.
Federer lost the first set after leading by a break, then saved three set points in the 12th game of the third set before winning the tiebreaker and totally dominating the fourth set.
It was a far cry from last year, when, with Rod Laver himself about to present the trophy, Federer shed tears after having missed his first chance to equal Pete Sampras' 14 Grand Slam titles — a feat he later achieved and then surpassed with wins at the French Open and Wimbledon.
Today, Federer was all smiles at the courtside television interview with two-time Australian Open champion and now commentator Jim Courier, who reminded Federer that he had not lost a set in the first round of a major in more than six years — not since the 2003 French Open, the event before he won Wimbledon for his first Grand Slam title.
"I did know it was going to be tough, we played five sets in New York two years back and I really had to adjust my game to beat him," Federer said of Andreev. "I think I definitely got lucky to get out of that one. It was a fortunate third set today."
Top-ranked Serena Williams, the defending women's champion, had an easy first-rounder, beating Urszula Radwanska of Poland 6-2, 6-1. Her sister, sixth-seeded Venus, also advanced easily, beating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2.
Third-seeded Novak Djokovic beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 in a night match. Djokovic won his first and only Grand Slam at the 2008 Australian Open, losing only one set during the two-week tournament and beat Roger Federer in the semifinals.
Serena Williams' record in the first round of the Slams is even more impressive than Federer's — she has never lost an opener.
"I was a little nervous today because that's always on the back of my mind," Williams said. "Records are meant to be broken. This one means a lot to me ... just to have an opportunity to have not lost yet in the first round of a Grand Slam — knock on wood — is really good for me."
