Roger Federer survived a closer-than-expected match today, in the first round of Wimbledon.
In the first round of the Wimbledon Championships, six-time champion Roger Federer "teetered sensationally on the brink of an astonishing defeat," Ronald Atkin reports.
The BBC calls it a "massive scare," adding he "avoided one of the biggest upsets in tennis history."
Alejandro Falla, ranked sixtieth in the world, won the first two sets, but a third-set win and a tie breaker in the fourth set changed the momentum of the match, and Federer didn't look back, winning the fifth set 6-0.
Geoff Macdonald, the head coach of the women's tennis team at Vanderbilt University, is in Wimbledon, England, covering the tournament for The New York Times.
In a new post for the Straight Sets blog, he outlines some of the lessons we can learn from Roger Federer's five-set victory over Alejandro Falla.
"Perhaps the biggest lesson is that he kept his temperament in check and his body language fairly neutral, despite missing routine shots time and time again," he writes.
Federer clearly had little or no feel for his shots, especially his topspin backhand, which looked different somehow. He appears to be crowding the ball, which effects his balance and caused him to shank several balls.
His serve toss also looked off; at times he had more of a back arch than usual. And his movement and decision making, normally superb, seemed hesitant, uncertain.
Federer will face Ilija Bozoljac next, in the tournament's second round.
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