DUBAI // The fans would have certainly preferred the entertainment to last a bit longer. But Benoit Paire, on his best day, would be a mismatch for Roger Federer. On Monday night, the Frenchman was hampered by a painful ankle as well.
A double jeopardy if there was ever one. But the fans had few complaints, rising to their feet as one to applaud Federer’s 6-1, 6-3 win, in his first match since the five-set triumph over Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open.
“I think I returned very well for a first round,” Federer, who is making his 13th appearance at the tournament and chasing his eighth title here, said.
“I was able to get my second serves in deep, was able to go into the offensive quickly.
“The serve in the beginning was a bit off maybe, but I think also playing at night here for the first time, it’s always just a different ball when you toss it up with the lights and everything, so that’s going to get better as I progress in the tournament.
“Didn’t have to move that much. You know, it was very quick rallies. So we’ll see how that’s going to turn out. But obviously couldn’t be a better first round for me here in Dubai.”
The match lasted a mere 54 minutes, but fans had started arriving from early afternoon, trying to reserve their seats. By the time Federer walked out, to a predictably deafening roar, virtually every seat was taken.
For the first time in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships this year, there were fans in the upper tier of the stadium. The attendance was substantially greater than the women’s final on Saturday. But then, this was expected. At times, more than 6,000 have turned up at stadiums just to watch Federer practise.
“It’s nice as you’re warming up, you hear the crowd already somewhat as they’re getting pumped up by someone,” said Federer about the adulation he receives from the Dubai fans. “You hear music and hear the roars. Then when you walk out, I don’t know, it’s a nice feeling to have. You know, it’s mutual, because I missed playing here last year.
“I have played here for so many years, seen the tournament grow. And especially after Australia, fans and myself know how special it is for me to be back on the court. It was a nice welcome. Very thankful always.”
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Urged on by his fans, Federer hit the ground running, breaking Paire twice – in the fourth game and sixth – to wrap up the first set 28 minutes. In the second set, the Frenchman was broken to love in the fifth game and, in frustration, he hurled his racket at the advertising board, and it bounced back dangerously.
Given the damage caused by Denis Shapovalov’s inadvertent smash into the face of the umpire during a Davis Cup match earlier this month, Federer was asked if there should be harsher penalties for such behaviour and he replied in the negative.
“I don’t know how it can be harsher than to be disqualified,” he said. “Getting a zero point or no prize money? What, get thrown in jail? I don’t know. I mean, that’s the next step, I guess.
“The players know what the drill is, what the rules are. I don’t think the ATP has to revisit that part of the thing, but sure, you have to be careful. When you whack a ball out of the stadiums, you want to be 100 per cent sure you clear everything in the path, even birds and stuff.
“If you throw the racket, you want to know how it bounces. And if it’s the unknown, you shouldn’t do it.”
RESULTS
First round
[3] R Federer (SUI) bt B Paire (FRA) 6-1, 6-3
P Kohlschreiber (GER) bt [8] G Muller (LUX) 6-4, 7-6
[6] R Bautista Agut (ESP) bt K Khachanov (RUS) 6-1, 7-6
M Granollers (ESP) bt J Vesely (CZE) 6-3, 6-2
G Garcia-Lopez (ESP) bt V Troicki (SRB) 6-4, 6-3
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