NEW YORK // The four-time defending champion Roger Federer began his quest for a first grand slam title of the season with a comfortable first-round victory over Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez at the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre. Federer has not won a grand slam this year, having lost in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon to Rafael Nadal, who subsequently ended the Swiss players' four-and-a-half-year reign at the top of the world rankings.
But Federer, who last year won his 12th grand slam title with victory at Flushing Meadows to move within two of Pete Sampras' record, was at home on the Arthur Ashe Stadium hardcourt, defeating world No 118 Gonzalez 6-3 6-0 6-3 in 1hr 21mins. Federer, who won three of the four grand slam tournaments in 2006 and 2007, is in danger of coming away with none this year for the first time since 2002. He took his first step toward turning that around by easily dispatching the Gonzalez, 25, in the first meeting between the pair.
Gonzalez did not use that unfamiliarity to his advantage, failing to gain any momentum other than a brief 3-2 lead in the third set. Federer used his booming serve to his overwhelm his opponent, recording 15 aces and winning 73 per cent of points on his first serve. "I think it was a good match to start off with," Federer said. "I had never seen my opponent before. That was the tricky part. I thought the other guy played good for the pressure he was under." Federer, who had his record streak of 237 consecutive weeks as the world No 1 end last week, has had little success lately.
He has just two singles titles this year - at Estoril and Halle - while losing to Nadal in the finals on four occasions but he remains unfazed after entering a grand slam as the No 2 seed for the first time since the 2004 Australian Open. "One or two is always pretty much the same thing," Federer added. "The change I feel is, fans are really supporting me and telling me I'm still No 1 and still the best, saying, 'You're going to be there again'.
"I feel like I've got unbelievable support from the fans watching me and seeing people in the streets and stuff. It's really nice." * PA Sport
