Federer, playing at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament for the first time since Montreal in 2011, needed just 52 minutes to defeat the 129th-ranked Polansky. The second seed opened the match with a break of serve, and won 6 of 7 on his break point chances.
"I was happy, I started well and that's always helpful to play more freely," he said. "I think I could have served better at times, but other than that, already in practice I felt I was moving well. Didn't feel so good hitting the ball yet. Wasn't quite getting used to the surface, and now the last few days have been much better and I'm happy that in the match it kind of all worked really well."
"For the start of a tournament it's never clear if that's going to be the case. I'm very relieved and just really pleased."
Polansky, who has practised with Federer on numerous occasions, explained the difference between hitting sessions and actually facing the Swiss in competition. "Right off the bat, the first ball he's trying to kill ya," he admitted.
"It was good for me to see how he works a point and what to improve on, what I need to do and what I need to do to get better," Polansky added.
"On the courts you've just got to block it out and just get it done," said Federer about the rout. "You never know when it can shift. It's all happened before. You feel a little bad, and then you end up losing the match."
Federer, who celebrates his 33rd birthday on Friday, has reached the final on three of his four past visits to Toronto. He claimed the title in 2004 (d. Roddick) and ’06 (d. Gasquet) and finished runner-up to Andy Murray in 2010.
Federer is making his first appearance since a five-set loss to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. He awaits the winner between No. 15 seed Marin Cilic and Tunisian lucky loser Malek Jaziri in the third round.
Date: 6th August 2014, Source: ATP and Reuters
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