The Swiss needed to win his second-round match against the South African to ensure he would not miss the London showpiece at the O2 Arena for the first time since 2002, and though he survived a scare in the second set, he did so comfortably enough in Paris on Wednesday.
After clinching the first set with a single break of serve achieved in the opening game, Federer seemed to be cruising when he broke twice more at the start of the second.
Anderson then fought back from 1-5 down to get it back to 4-5, but Federer still had a break in hand, and after failing to serve out the match on his first try, he made no mistake the second time around.
Federer spoke recently about how important the ATP World Tour Finals was to him.
"It's the absolute pinnacle of our sport," he said. "You want to be able to showcase your talents against the best, with the biggest rivalries, in one of the coolest arenas in the world in front of amazing fans. For me it's always been an honour to play there and I look forward to returning this year."
World No 1 Rafael Nadal was also in action on the day, beating fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers 7-5 7-5 to book his place in the third round.
The top seed needed an hour and 40 minutes to get past his spirited opponent, securing a solitary break in each set to clinch the victory.
No comments:
Post a Comment