ROGER FEDERER WINS IN CINCINNATI, DJOKOVIC AND RAFAEL NADAL TO PLAY ON WEDNESDAY BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 18th August 2015

ROGER FEDERER WINS IN CINCINNATI, DJOKOVIC AND RAFAEL NADAL TO PLAY ON WEDNESDAY BY RICKY DIMON

Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a return shot to Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay during their match in the Western & Southern Open at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, USA, 18 August 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

Roger Federer kicked off his Western & Southern Open title defense by hammering Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 during second-round action on Tuesday night. Federer won 20 of 21 first-serve points and did not face a single break point while cruising in just one hour and nine minutes.

“It’s the first round of the hard court season for the next six plus months or so,” the six-time champion explained. “I have things in mind to work on for the hard-court season. No. 1, you have to be fit and tough, because you can stop on a dime and move the other direction, which on other surfaces is not so easy to do.

“Here in Cincy it plays pretty quick, so why not move forward a bit. You have to just pick the right times and keep your opponent off balance. I think it is a good play for me.”

A bit? Federer was all over the Bautista Agut serve, consistently returning the Spaniard’s second offerings from several meters inside the baseline. He won seven of 11 second-serve return points in the second set.

Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain stretches to hit a return shot to Roger Federer of Switzerland during their match in the Western & Southern Open at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, USA, 18 August 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will begin their weeks on Wednesday.

Djokovic hopes the 11th time is the charm in Cincinnati as he begins yet another quest for an elusive title. This is the only Masters 1000 event on the ATP World Tour schedule that the top-ranked Serb has never won.

If recent results at this level are any indication, however, Djokovic is primed and ready for a triumph. He won his first four Masters 1000 tournaments of 2015 (Miami, Indian Wells, Monte-Carlo, and Rome) before finishing runner-up to Andy Murray last weekend in Montreal. With the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles also on his resume this season, Djokovic boats a 52-4 record.

Up first for the No. 1 seed is a first-ever meeting with Benoit Paire, who got into the main draw as a lucky loser after falling in the final round of qualifying to Denis Kudla. The Frenchman has already made the most of his opportunity, beating an in-form Gilles Muller 7-6(5), 7-6(6) on Monday. This has been a resurgent year for Paire, who owns 16 wins at the ATP level and is back up to 42nd in the rankings.

Nadal and Jeremy Chardy will be going head-to-head for just the second time. Their only previous encounter came two years ago on the red stuff in Vina del Mar, where Nadal cruised 6-2, 6-2.

At the moment, however, it is Chardy who has both momentum and a surface advantage. The 27th-ranked Frenchman is coming off an epic run to the Montreal semifinals that secured him a seed for the upcoming U.S. Open. He maintained his fine form on Tuesday in Cincinnati by rolling over Rajeev Ram 6-4, 6-2.

Last week’s Rogers Cup did not work out as well for Nadal, who showed some encouraging signs in two victories only to get blown out by Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-4 during quarterfinal action. Still, the eighth-ranked Spaniard is not mired in such an extensive slump as he was earlier in the season. He captured grass and clay-court titles in June (Stuttgart) and early August (Hamburg), respectively. The jury is still out on his hard-court form, but Nadal at least got three matches worth of practice under his belt in Montreal.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: ATP Cincinnati, Cincy Tennis, Jeremy Chardy, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis, Western & Southern Open

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

August 18, 2015 at 9:51 pm

-@rogerfederer WINS IN #Cincinnati, @DjokerNole AND @RafaelNadal TO PLAY ON WEDNESDAY BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/8VRd7b5CIk #CincyTennis
Dimonator says:

August 18, 2015 at 9:55 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@rogerfederer WINS IN #Cincinnati, @DjokerNole AND @RafaelNadal TO PLAY ON WEDNESDAY BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/8VRd7b5C…