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Switzerland’s Roger Federer returns a shot against Italy’s Potito Starace on Monday. (AP-Yonhap News) |
BASEL, Switzerland (AP) ― Roger Federer made a winning return from a six-week break, beating Potito Starace of Italy 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the first round of his hometown Swiss Indoors event Monday.
The fourth-ranked Federer took time to find the rhythm in his ground strokes, and saved a break point at 5-all before winning the first-set tiebreaker comfortably.
The 30-year-old Swiss then broke the 54th-ranked Starace’s serve in the opening game of the second.
Federer last played on Sept. 18 in a Davis Cup match on grass in Australia where he beat Bernard Tomic in four sets.
After opting to rest and recharge, Federer played his first match ranked outside the top three since winning the 2003 Wimbledon title as the No. 5.
Federer came in with a 5-0 career record against Starace, but was unable to put pressure on the Italian right-hander’s serve in the first set.
Starace had the only break point in the set which Federer saved with a forehand winner.
Valencia Open
Nikolay Davydenko beat fifth-seeded Gilles Simon 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Monday in the first round of the Valencia Open, hurting the Frenchman’s chances of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals.
Davydenko hit a forehand winner to go up a break at 2-1 in the deciding set and used a drop shot to save a break point in the sixth game. It was the Russian’s second win in seven career meetings against the 12th-ranked Simon.
Simon trails eighth-ranked Mardy Fish by 720 points with only the Paris Masters to play before the season-ending tour finals in London. The top eight qualify for the Nov. 20-27 tournament in London.
