“It was tough,” said Federer. “A very difficult first set. I was happy with the way that I was able to turn it around. Denis, I thought, played a very good first set. I didn’t play poorly to let him back into the match. In the second set, I guess I learned from the first set and was able to bring it home.”
Playing in front of a packed crowd on No. 1 Court, Federer raced out of the blocks to take a 3-0 lead in the first set, but Istomin found his feet and broke the Swiss top seed to draw level at 3-3.
Both players continued to hold serve as grey clouds threatened overhead, and with Federer serving at 5-5 15-30 the rain finally arrived and play was suspended.
The players returned a short while later and Istomin’s small window of opportunity immediately arrived. He held three break points in the opening game after the stoppage, but three big first serves helped Federer avoid trouble.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion doesn’t tend to give his opponents too many chances, so it felt like Istomin’s ship may have sailed when those break points slipped by the way-side. That feeling was compounded in the next game when Federer converted his second set point.
The second set started like the first, with Federer stamping his authority early by breaking Istomin’s opening service game to take a 3-0 lead. This time, however, there was no way back for the Uzbek player as Federer continued to serve out the match.
Next up for Federer is John Isner who Janko Tipsarevic 7-5, 7-6(14).
Date: 1st August 2012, Source: ITF
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