Eye-opening match

Federer falls behind two sets, dodges big upset

 Switzerland’s Roger Federer lost his first two sets Monday before rallying to defeat Colombia’s Alejandro Falla during the opening round of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club in Wimbledon, England. Federer won 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-0.
Switzerland’s Roger Federer lost his first two sets Monday before rallying to defeat Colombia’s Alejandro Falla during the opening round of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club in Wimbledon, England. Federer won 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-0.

— For Roger Federer, Wimbledon nearly ended at the beginning.

The six-time champion overcame a two-set deficit to avert a major first-round upset, beating Alejandro Falla 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-0.

Federer has reached the tournament final each of the past seven years, but Monday he barely survived the traditional opening match on Centre Court as defending champion.

“I live another day,” Federer said. “This one is one I should have lost. That’s sometimes how grass-court tennis works.”

The 60th-ranked Falla had lost all 11 sets in his previous four matches against Federer, but the Colombian took charge of the match early. The turnaround came in the fourth set with Falla serving for the match and three points from victory, when Federer broke for only the second time.

Federer’s play improved after that. It’s the third time in a row he has won after losing the first two sets at a Grand Slam event, but the close call was a new experience in such an early round.

“You definitely feel uncomfortable,” Federer said. “For me it’s not normal to be down two sets to love. Especially at Wimbledon and early on in Grand Slams, it’s something I’m not quite used to.”

After winning the first two sets, Falla received treatment from a trainer during the nextthree changeovers for an upper left leg injury, but he said it didn’t affect the outcome.

No. 5 Andy Roddick, who lost to Federer in last year’s final, began his title bid by beating fellow American Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Roddick never faced a break point and committed only 10 unforced errors.

In women’s play, five-time champion Venus Williams beat Rossana de los Rios 6-3, 6-2.

Grand Slam champions Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin began Wimbledon comebacks with victories. Clijsters won easily in her first match at the All England Club since 2006, beating Maria Elena Camerin 6-0, 6-3. Henin, playing at Wimbledon for the first time since 2007, defeated Anastasija Sevastova 6-4, 6-3.

American Melanie Oudin, who made a surprising run to the fourth round last year as a 17-year-old, defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld 6-3, 6-0.

French Open champion Francesca Schiavone lost to Vera Dushevina, 6-7 (0), 7-5, 6-1 in nearly three hours. The No. 5-seeded Schiavone committed 38 unforced errors and fell to 0-2 since the improbable run to her first Grand Slam title.

Like Federer, No. 7 Nikolay Davydenko overcame a twoset deficit, beating Kevin Anderson 3-6, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 7-5, 9-7. Anderson hit 36 aces.

Dustin Brown, the first Jamaican man to play in a Grand Slam tournament since 1974, lost to No. 16 Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

The first day’s play began in warm sunshine and ended with the Centre Court roof closed at twilight to allow the completion of No. 3 Novak Djokovic’s victory over Olivier Rochus, 4-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. The match ended at 11 p.m.

For Falla, the pivotal moment came when he served for the biggest victory of his career at 5-4 in the fourth set. He made shaky errors on the first two points, and two deft forehands by Federer gave him the break.

Federer ran away with the tiebreaker, taking advantage of four more unforced errors by Falla, and the deflated Colombian mustered little resistance in the final set.

“I definitely got very lucky today out there,” Federer said.

“I think about the lost opportunity,” Falla said. “On the other hand, I played a great match. I had Federer against the ropes.”

There had been signs coming into the tournament that Federer might be vulnerable. He lost at the French Open this month in the quarterfinals, his earliest Grand Slam exit in six years. Then he dropped to No. 2 in the rankings behind rival Rafael Nadal. Then at a Wimbledon warmup event came Federer’s second grass-court defeat since 2003, extending his droughtof nearly five months without a title.

But no one expected so much trouble against a 26-year-old journeyman who has yet to win a tournament. There were stretches of stunned silence from the crowd, dumbfounded by the score. Fans also roared in appreciation of Falla’s frequent winners.

“He played great,” Federer said. “He was the one who put me in that kind of a score. I thought I was actually playing decent. Credit to him.”

The match was Falla’s third in the past four weeks against Federer, which at first worked to the Colombian’s advantage.

“It shouldn’t have,” Federer said before cracking a smile. “He should have known that I was going to beat him. But he forgot I beat him.”Monday’s results At The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club Wimbledon, England Purse: $20.3 million (Grand Slam) Surface: Grass-Outdoor First round Singles Men Michal Przysiezny, Poland, def. Ivan Ljubicic (17), Croatia, 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-3.

Daniel Brands, Germany, def. Igor Andreev, Russia, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), 7-5.

Yen-hsun Lu, Taiwan, def. Horacio Zeballos, Argentina, 7-5, 6-4, 6-3.

Ricardas Berankis, Lithuania, def. Carsten Ball, Australia, 6-2, 6-0, 3-6, 7-6 (5).

Ilija Bozoljac, Serbia, def. Nicolas Massu, Chile, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7).

Mardy Fish, United States, def. Bernard Tomic, Australia, 6-3, 7-6 (8), 6-2.

Gael Monfils (21), France, def. Leonardo Mayer, Argentina, 6-1, 7-6 (9), 6-2.

Jurgen Melzer (16), Austria, def. Dustin Brown, Jamaica, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Roger Federer (1), Switzerland, def. Alejandro Falla, Colombia, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (1), 6-0.

Albert Montanes (28), Spain, def. Paolo Lorenzi, Italy, 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-2.

Florian Mayer, Germany, def. Marin Cilic (11), Croatia, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (1).

Nikolay Davydenko (7), Russia, def. Kevin Anderson, South Africa, 3-6, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 7-5, 9-7.

Victor Hanescu (31), Romania, def. Andrey Kuznetsov, Russia, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

Tomas Berdych (12), Czech Republic, def. Andrey Golubev, Kazakhstan, 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-2.

Denis Istomin, Uzbekistan, def. Stanislas Wawrinka (20), Switzerland, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Andy Roddick (5), United States, def. Rajeev Ram, United States, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

Peter Luczak, Australia, def. Tommy Robredo (30), Spain, 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 7-5.

Philipp Kohlschreiber (29), Germany, def. Potito Starace, Italy, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Feliciano Lopez (22), Spain, def. Jesse Levine, United States, 7-6 (2), 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Lleyton Hewitt (15), Australia, def. Maximo Gonzalez, Argentina, 5-7, 6-0, 6-2, 6-2.

Novak Djokovic (3), Serbia, def. Olivier Rochus, Belgium, 4-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Women Kim Clijsters (8), Belgium, def. Maria Elena Camerin, Italy, 6-0, 6-3.

Nadia Petrova (12), Russia, def. Tatjana Malek, Germany, 6-4, 6-3.

Maria Kirilenko (27), Russia, def. Stefanie Voegele, Switzerland, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Marion Bartoli (11), France, def. Julia Goerges, Germany, 6-4, 6-3.

Vera Zvonareva (21), Russia, def. Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spain, 6-4, 6-1.

Jelena Jankovic (4), Serbia, def. Laura Robson, Britain, 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Alisa Kleybanova (26), Russia, def. Sandra Zahlavova, Czech Republic, 6-2, 6-3.

Vera Dushevina, Russia, def. Francesca Schiavone (5), Italy, 6-7 (0), 7-5, 6-1.

Regina Kulikova, Russia, def. Melanie South, Britain, 6-1, 6-2.

Tsvetana Pironkova, Bulgaria, def. Anna Lapushchenkova, Russia, 6-0, 7-6 (7).

Varvara Lepchenko, United States, def. Lucie Hradecka, Czech Republic, 6-4, 7-5.

Yanina Wickmayer (15), Belgium, def. Alison Riske, United States, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.

Melanie Oudin (33), United States, def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, Germany, 6-3, 6-0.

Justine Henin (17), Belgium, def. Anastasija Sevastova, Latvia, 6-4, 6-3.

Venus Williams (2), United States, def. Rossana de los Rios, Paraguay, 6-3, 6-2.

Shahar Peer (13), Israel, def. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia, 6-3, 6-4.

Sports, Pages 15 on 06/22/2010

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