By Chris Oddo | Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Roger Federer eased past Pablo Cuevas and into the round of 16 on Rome on Wednesday.
Photo Source: EPA
Roger Federer got his bid for a first Internazionali BNL D’Italia title underway with a 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay.
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The victory was Federer’s second against Cuevas this month, as Federer also eased past the world No. 24 in the Istanbul final.
It was tight from the start, as Federer failed to convert on the only break point of the first set, then fell behind by a mini-break after an error on the first point of the tiebreaker.
Back-to-back drop shots would enable 2nd-seeded Federer to take the edge in the breaker at 2-1, and he extended to lead to 4-1 before eventually claiming the set on a dazzling defensive get that seemed to stun Cuevas into the error.
In the second set Federer would move ahead 4-2 when Cuevas netted a smash, and the Swiss would close the match with two holds of serve to set up a round of 16 encounter with South Africa’s Kevin Anderson.
Federer, who became the 7th player in Open Era history to notch his 200th clay-court win in Istanbul, is now 204-64 on clay for his career. A three-time finalist at Rome, the 33-year-old improves to 28-14 at the Foro Italico.
In other late-finishing action at Rome, David Goffin upset Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, saving a match point to triumph, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, while Viktor Troicki upset Feliciano Lopez, 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-3.