The second seed broke six times to rally against
Harris, the 22-year-old who was an alternate at last year's Next Gen ATP
Finals in Milan and was making his Wimbledon debut.
The 6'4” right-hander, however, had the Centre Court
crowd murmuring as he returned aggressively and broke in the sixth game,
the first time Federer had been broken in the first round of Wimbledon
since 2012 against Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
Harris then took the opener, marking the first time
Federer had lost his first set at Wimbledon since 2010 against Colombian
Alejandro Falla, a match the Swiss won in five sets.
But Federer settled down quickly and went on attack
against Harris, whose level slipped after the opener. Federer won 29 of
his 31 net points (94%) for the match and finished with 42 winners to
only 14 unforced errors.
“I felt the court was slow. I couldn't really have any impact. He was doing a good job of returning me. I wasn't hitting my spots, and he was reading my serve, or he was just doing a good job,” Federer said.
“I just struggled early on, my legs were frozen and the ball was not going where I wanted it to. He was hitting big and things were going quickly. I was nervous for a set and a half. In defence, you're weak. The next thing you know you're struggling. That's what I had going. So it took a good effort from me. Lloyd played a good match.
“But I think with my experience I stayed calm. I know I have other things in the bag that I can come up with, other tricks. I just took a bit of time.”
The Swiss won his 10th title in Halle on 23 June for his 102nd tour-level title and 19th on grass. Five of the eight times Federer has won Wimbledon, he's won Halle as well. Federer will next meet Brit Jay Clarke, who beat American Noah Rubin 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. Federer won the Wimbledon junior boys' title the in 1998, the year the 20-year-old Clarke was born.
Federer has not lost in the first round of a Grand Slam since 2003 Roland Garros (l. to Luis Horna). The Swiss has lost in the Wimbledon first round three times: on debut as a wild card in 1999 (l. Jiri Novak), in 2000 (l. Yevgeny Kafelnikov) and as the seventh seed in 2002 (l. Mario Ancic).
Date: 2 July 2019, Source: ATP and AFP
“I felt the court was slow. I couldn't really have any impact. He was doing a good job of returning me. I wasn't hitting my spots, and he was reading my serve, or he was just doing a good job,” Federer said.
“I just struggled early on, my legs were frozen and the ball was not going where I wanted it to. He was hitting big and things were going quickly. I was nervous for a set and a half. In defence, you're weak. The next thing you know you're struggling. That's what I had going. So it took a good effort from me. Lloyd played a good match.
“But I think with my experience I stayed calm. I know I have other things in the bag that I can come up with, other tricks. I just took a bit of time.”
The Swiss won his 10th title in Halle on 23 June for his 102nd tour-level title and 19th on grass. Five of the eight times Federer has won Wimbledon, he's won Halle as well. Federer will next meet Brit Jay Clarke, who beat American Noah Rubin 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. Federer won the Wimbledon junior boys' title the in 1998, the year the 20-year-old Clarke was born.
Federer has not lost in the first round of a Grand Slam since 2003 Roland Garros (l. to Luis Horna). The Swiss has lost in the Wimbledon first round three times: on debut as a wild card in 1999 (l. Jiri Novak), in 2000 (l. Yevgeny Kafelnikov) and as the seventh seed in 2002 (l. Mario Ancic).
Date: 2 July 2019, Source: ATP and AFP
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