Federer dominant, Murray struggles at Monte Carlo
MONTE CARLO, Principality of Monaco: Roger Federer made advanced over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez
But it was a struggle for No.2 Andy Murray, who needed to call upon all of his resources to survive his opening match of the season on clay.
The Scot scratched out a narrow 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 win over French
Federer showed no signs of a layoff after undergoing a knee operation on February 3 and delaying his comeback by three weeks due to stomach ill- ness last month before Miami.
Federer has never won the Monte Carlo title, losing in four compatriot Stan Wawrinka, the reigning French Open champion.
He said his repaired knee gave him absolutely no trouble: “The knee felt really good, like in practises, it felt like I didn’t have to worry about it. I’m at a point now where I’m looking more forward in the sense that whenever I can dig out a good point,
- dence now, which is great.”
Federer was broken while serving for the win leading 5-2 in the second set; he got the job done on the second time of asking with a winner.
Federer called the win “in a way, the perfect match.”
“It was close in the beginning, then I was able to go on a roll. Points were cut short by virtue of me serving better and returning better, getting second serves, taking advantage of that fact.
it. I was excited and tense in the begin go through all these emotions.
Federer, playing here for a 13th time, won his fourth match over Garcia-Lopez without the loss of on clay; he claimed his 29th Monte Carlo match win.
Murray needed two hours to book his place in the third round after losing serve four times against Frenchman Herbert.
The Scot has yet to regain his top form two months after becoming a father.
since the Davis Cup [last November]. I don’t know why. In a lot of my matches, it’s been some good stuff mixed in with some pretty bad stuff.
“The norm is bad just now, so I need to improve on that. I’m not playing my best. The consistency has not been there, maybe not as sharp as I could be mentally.
clay-court ranking points to defend af on the surface at Munich and Madrid.
Murray improved his tournament record to 12-7 with the victory. He needed to battle in a tight third set against the 95th-ranked Herbert, breaking to love for a 3-1 lead that proved decisive.