I'm not sure if it's only me. I thought Roger Federer look pale. Hope he's not sick or experiencing fatigue still.Last night, Federer returned from a 5-week break to beat Radek Stepanek 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the second round of the Madrid Masters.
“Happy to be back on tour,” Federer said.Federer, playing his first ATP event since winning the U.S. Open last month, will face Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
“Happy with this first round. it was always going to be tough against Radek and he played a great second set.”
“I’m excited. He’s had a rocky season with injuries this year, so I feel for the guy,” Federer said of his French opponent.
“He’s probably one of the guys you wanna be playing out there.”
In an earlier match, Novak Djokovic advanced after Victor Hanescu retired because of an apparent groin injury while trailing 6-7 (8), 7-6 (8), 3-1. “It’s a big relief to win … this is a big boost up for upcoming matches,” Djokovic said.
“He used his biggest weapon which was his serve. I couldn’t find any rhythm in return, so he used that wisely.”
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal pulled out of doubles with Carlos Moya on Tuesday because of a slight upper leg injury. “Every match is important, including doubles, but I’ve got priorities,” said Nadal, who will face Richard Gasquet of France in singles tonight.American qualifier Robby Ginepri had the biggest upset of the day, beating fifth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
“You can’t win everything.”
Andy Roddick had little trouble getting past Spain’s Tommy Robredo, 6-3, 6-4.
The 8th-ranked American’s booming serve was never seriously challenged by Robredo and Roddick used breaks in each of the sets to pace out his win.
David Nalbandian won his sixth straight match by defeating Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1.
Updates:
6th seed Ferrer suffered a shock defeat to fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in straight sets, recording a 6-4 7-6 triumph.
There will be an all-Argentinean clash in the next round when Nalbandian will meet his Davis Cup team-mate Juan Martin del Potro, who was 6-4 6-2 ahead when his Finnish opponent, Jarrko Nieminen, retired.
(Via AP, Images via Yahoo! Sport)
