By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, June 3, 2021
Roger Federer withstood Marin Cilic—and a rare time violation warning—posting a 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 win to reach the Roland Garros third round for the 16th time.
Photo credit: @Roland Garros
Impeccable timing marked Roger Federer's opening-round win in his Roland Garros return.
A stall call sparked feistiness and focus in Federer today.
More: Barty Hobbles Out of Roland Garros
A fired up Federer withstood Marin Cilic—and a rare time violation warning that resulted in a minutes long debate—posting a 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 win to reach the Roland Garros third round for the 16th time.
"Very good match for me, I thought," said Federer afterward. "A bit of up-and-downs in the second and third sets. The good thing, I feel like I come out of a match like this and I know why it was up and down, you know. And then that I was able to attain a solid level once he did break back in the third set and things were looking dangerous for me, that I was able to step up a gear, stay with him, and then pull away from him, I think that gives me a lot of confidence."
While world No. 1 Novak Djokovic was dismantling Pablo Cuevas in straight sets on nearby Court Suzanne Lenglen, Federer elevated in the tiebreaker and fourth set to take charge.
"So I think that fourth set was really big and nice for me, because it's hard to replicate those kind of pressure moments like tiebreaker third set, one set all, and then sort of everything goes flat, you know, beginning of the fourth set," Federer said. "But you have got to stay on top of things and I was able to almost find another gear, which he couldn't, and I think that was very nice for me. So I'm very happy."
This clash of Grand Slam champions was a rematch of the 2017 Wimbledon final and 2018 Australian Open title match, both won by Federer.
It was an adventurous match including Federer hitting a drop shot return winner off a Cilic serve at one point, chair umpire Emmanuel Joseph earning the Swiss superstar's ire with that second-set time violation warning and stretches of offensive strikes from both men.
Ultimately, Federer's serving superiority—the Swiss served 68 percent, pumping 16 aces with one double fault, while Cilic double-faulted away the mini break in the tie breaker and the crucial break in the fourth game of the fourth set—and timely angled returns helped him conquer Cilic for the 10th time in 11 meetings.
Coming off a pair of knee surgeries and wearing his new On shoe after shedding the swoosh brand, Federer has moved smoothly and anticipated shrewdly on key points today. Federer fired 47 winners against 27 unforced errors raising his Roland Garros record to 72-17.
There were plenty of positives for Federer, who covered the court fluidly, was energized by the controversial time violation warning call, played an assertive, clean tiebreaker and stretched the lead successfully in the fourth set.
Sharp serving under pressure is one reason why Federer has dominated this match-up. Cilic double faulted and slapped an error as the Swiss broke for 2-1.
The angled chip return is one of Federer's most underrated weapons because he can use it to neuter the sting of a big serve and drag the server to obscure areas of the court. Luring Cilic into the front court with the chip, Federer spun a backhand pass for break point setting up his second straight break.
Twenty-five minutes into the match, Federer fended off a break point confirming the break for 5-1. The Swiss showed his sleight-of-hand magic flicking a drop shot return winner for 15-30 in the seventh game. Cilic crunched consecutive aces to answer with authority.
Slashing successive aces, Federer slid a backhand down the line serving out the half-hour opener at love. Sustaining the serving precision he showed in his opening-round win over Denis Istomin, Federer served 60 percent, fired five aces and denied both break points.
Under fire to start the second set, Cilic saved a break point to hold then unleashed a barrage of diagonal forehands breaking for a 2-0 second-set lead.
The 6'6" Croatian was sometimes cracking returns through the center of the court right back at the Swiss denying him access to angles and hitting his backhand returns crosscourt to test Federer's backhand wing. The 2009 champion saved a couple of break points holding in the fourth game.
Though Cilic has a habit of bouncing the ball several times before serving, he complained to the chair umpire during a changeover that Federer wasn't ready to return holding up his serve a few times and reminding the chair the returner must play to the server's pace.
Embed from Getty Images
Lobbying the chair umpire resulted in action: Federer was hit with a rare time violation warning with about 13 seconds left on the serve clock that prompted a few minute discussion between French chair umpire Emmanuel Joseph and the Swiss. Federer asked Cilic "Am I playing too slow?" before the pair seemed to sort out the issue.
Afterward, Federer said he hadn't realized Cilic was complaining about the issue.
"Rirst I didn't understand what was going on until I figured, like, he must have said something to me about a warning, and then I tried to understand why, you know, like I don't stall," Federer said. "I didn't feel like I was making him wait, until I realized, only when I sat down, it was not even during the conversation I had with him at the net, is that actually Marin had hit a serve once, you know, while I wasn't in position yet.
"And I thought he was working on his serve, which I thought was really odd, but it dawned on me that he must have been upset for a while and I told the umpire, Why didn't you tell me? I did not know that he was upset. He goes, Well, I figured you knew. I was, like, Okay. Here we are again in a place where you think that I know, and then we, nobody knows. It's a misunderstanding there."
Federer, who has faced repeated ball bouncer Novak Djokovic many times, said Cilic's ball-bouncing can be disconcerting in that it can force you to hold your return position while the bouncing is ongoing.
The exchange was energizing for the eight-time Wimbledon winner.
"But the thing is also obviously when he sets his foot down to get ready for the serve, he's not quite ready yet," Federer said. "He still takes 10 bounces. I'm not in the mood to stand there and just be his, you know, sort of, Here I am so you can get ready. Start bouncing already, and I rock up when I feel like it's also I'm ready to go.
"So I just feel like it was a misunderstanding on many levels. I didn't understand it and figure it out, and I guess I'm just "new" to the new tour. It was quite interesting to live through it. Got a little energy to the match, which I liked."
When play resumed more than five minutes after the previous point, Cilic navigated a tricky hold for 4-1.
Holding with an ace for 4-2, Federer prompted laughter from some fans informing the chair umpire he was ready to return. Seeing the Swiss distracted, Cilic exploited the lapse breaking Federer again on a forehand error to take the second set.
Settling down, Federer fought back from 15-30 down holding at at the start of the third. Stepping inside the baseline the Swiss lashed a backhand winner down the line breaking for 2-1.
Earning triple break point in the fifth game, Federer had a clear look at a forehand sitter down the line that would have given him a 4-1 lead, but sailed the shot beyond the baseline. That miss sparked Cilic, who saved four break points in all working through a hard-fought hold.
Reading the Swiss' second serve, Cilic was on the full stretch when he snapped a forehand return winner that froze Federer to break and level the set after six games.
Prior to the start of the third-set tiebreaker, chair umpire Joseph hit Cilic with a time violation warning. Throwing down an apparent ace, Cilic paused when the chair umpire checked the mark, called the serve good. Federer over-ruled against himself conceding the ace though Hawk-Eye replay showed the serve was long.
Federer lasered his 13th ace to go up then caught a mini break for 3-1 when Cilic coughed up his fifth ace. That single double fault was the lone crucial mini break. Federer flashed his 14th ace out wide going up two sets to one after two hours, four minutes. By then, both men had hit 37 winners, but Federer had 14 fewer unforced errors and served sharper under pivotal-point pressure.
Racing up quickly to a net-cord, Federer blocked a backhand volley for break point in the fourth game of the fourth set. Cilic spit up his sixth ace gifting the break and a 3-1 lead to the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
Snapping a deep return that dive-bombed near the Croatian's shoelaces, Federer forced a final error closing a two hour, 34-minute victory with his fifth break of the day.
Next up for Federer is a third-round clash vs. German left-hander Dominik Koepfer, who took down 30th-seeded Taylor Fritz.
"He's so crafty. He's so talented. I," Koepfer said of Federer. "It's amazing to watch him play. He's different than all the other players... and I don't just want to play him, I want to give him a battle and maybe come out with a win somehow."
The winner of the Federer vs. Koepfer third-round match could play ninth-seeded Matteo Berrettini in the fourth round. Arriving in Paris aiming to get some match play ahead of grass season, Federer spoke like a man pleased with his progress to round three.
"For me, my knee, the good thing is that I got a lot of information out of a match like this," Federer said. "We will keep on getting information tomorrow and the next day, so I hope I can back it up with hopefully another good match. And whatever the outcome is, I know it was definitely the right choice to come here to Paris, which I'm very happy about."