Dealing with post match scrutiny is the toughest part, says Federer

As the years go by, Roger Federer has little trouble coping with the pressure of playing the early rounds of a grand slam event but it is an altogether different story when it comes to dealing with post match scrutiny. The Swiss third seed won a record 234th grand-slam match, surpassing Jimmy Connors’s professional-era record, by dismissing Romanian Adrian Ungur 6-3 6-2 6-7 6-3 in the second round on Tuesday.

The 16-times major champion should have won the match in straight sets but did not seem too concerned about his minor wobble in the third set. “I think (playing the early rounds) is a bit easier now, just because I have been around for so long that, even though I expect myself to win, I can still manage to do that,” the third seed said, according to a report in The Times Of India.

“Whereas in the beginning when you think you’re good but you’re maybe not that good yet, you suffer many more surprise losses.” But with fame comes scrutiny. “The difference to playing a match where you’re the overwhelming favourite potentially in the early rounds of a grand slam is you have to (deal with the) press (inquisition) afterwards,” said Federer, adding “It’s just a bit of a different momentum in the press conference. I think that’s the toughest part sometimes.”

Meanwhile a report in the Indian Express says that Federer eventually won 6-3 6-2 6-7 6-3 on a sunny Philippe Chatrier court to pass Jimmy Connors’s professional-era record, having equalled it in the first round. “Instead of being aggressive I let him show me what he could do,” Federer said of the lost matchpoints. “He played two beautiful shots and he played very well.”

World number one Djokovic, aiming to become the first man in 43 years to hold all four Slam titles at the same time, rattled off the first seven games before faltering against Slovenian Blaz Kavcic. “I stopped,” the Serbian told a news conference, after the match turned into a fierce battle which he finally won 6-0 6-4 6-4. “I gave him the opportunity to come back into the match after a perfect first seven games.”