Federer Pleased to Win “Tricky” Paris Opener

Written by: Staff on 26th May 2013

Federer Pleased to Win "Tricky" Paris Opener

epa03555004 Roger Federer of Switzerland during his semi final match against Andy Murray of Great Britain at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, 25 January 2013. EPA/Mark Kolbe Pool uses. Use in books requires separate approval. NO LICENSING FOR CONSUMER PRINTS. |

(Original Story: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2013/05/22/Roland-Garros-Sunday-Federer-Reaction.aspx )

Second seed Roger Federercouldn’t have asked for a better start to his Roland Garroscampaign after sailing past qualifier Pablo Carreno Busta, an opponent he deemed “tricky” going into their first-round match-up on Sunday in Paris.

“I thought it was a good match for me,” said Federer. “He’s played many matches and won a lot this year. That really helps your confidence. And he’s played a lot of matches on clay, in comparison with me. I knew it could be tricky if I didn’t sustain a certain level of play and certain aggressiveness [and] got caught up in long rallies, [which is] maybe what he [was] looking for. Overall, I thought I did well on the serve, on the return [and] movement wise, as well. So clearly I’m very pleased.”

The Swiss comes into the second major tournament of the season on the back of a runner-up effort in Rome, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. Nadal is seeking his eighth title in nine years at Roland Garros and is arguably the favourite to lift the trophy once again, a tag that doesn’t bother Federer.

“Am I a favourite or not? I don’t care, because it doesn’t give me any more opportunities to win the tournament,” Federer said. “So you want to remain focused, calm, focused on what you want to do, and then let the storm go by.

“Of course there is more pressure when I arrive in Wimbledon and I have to defend 2,000 points. This is not the case here. I have fewer points to defend. With tennis, you never know what’s going to happen. You need to play every single match and that’s what makes it interesting.”

Topics: EPA, Pablo Carreno-Busta, Roger Federer, Roland Garros, Sports, Tennis, Tennis News