Roger Federer also presented himself in formidable form in the second round of Wimbledon. The Swiss superstar is getting ready to “erase the curse of Stuttgart”. In the match for the leap into the round of 16, the new “five set specialist” Jan-Lennard Struff will be waiting for you on Friday.
When the Stuttgart ATP tournament turned into a turf festival in 2015, an uncanny series quickly emerged. Whoever won the competition in Swabia was then eliminated in the second round in Wimbledon. Rafael Nadel, the Majorcan matador, was no different in Stuttgart’s opening year.
But it seems that such series don’t last when a certain Roger Federer is involved. Federer won the trophy at Weissenhof for the first time two and a half weeks ago, and on Wednesday afternoon he did not have the slightest trouble erasing the so-called “Curse of Stuttgart” – with his 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 win over the Slovak Lukas Lacko.
“I’m happy the way I play here,” said the cheerful maestro afterwards. In round three, he will now face the German Jan-Lennard Struff, who for the second time in a row lost 0:2 sets and won 13:11 in the fifth round against serve giant Ivo Karlovic.
Federer had won the second Australian Open round in January against Struff. Stan Wawrinka’s match against the Italian Thomas Fabbiano (ATP 132) was initially interrupted from the Swiss’s point of view due to rain at the alarming intermediate score of 6:7, 3:6, 6:5 – and later, like other matches, postponed to Thursday.
Federer’s appearance against Lacko was impressive, almost intimidating for all those who still want to try to spoil the fun of his mission to the ninth title coup. The 36-year-old superstar was outstandingly rare, and in the meantime he scored 35 points in a row with his irresistibly precise service – a dream run that lasted from the first service game of the second set to the 4:1 lead in the third act.
The serve gave him a generally peaceful afternoon on the beloved Centre Court – in the second living room of the greatest champion the world’s most important tournament in his history has seen. “Sometimes you’re happy when you have a tough game, when you have some challenges to face,” said Federer, “but at the moment I’m happy when I can conserve my strength”. Especially since, as Federer added dryly, “it is clear that it gets a bit harder with each additional round.
Federer could not disturb his experienced guest performance, neither Lacko, who became increasingly overstrained in the course of the game, nor curious circumstances such as the recent invasion of flying ants on the courts. 48 winning strokes and only eleven of the so-called “avoidable mistakes” illustrated a widely flawless presentation of the second in the world rankings, who has already become the number one favourite on the starting meters of the Open English Championships in 2018 – as in so many years since his first triumph in 2003.
Federer, who has now won 26 sets in a row in Wimbledon, could even use the one-sided duel for tactical exercises, more often than usual he used the slice, obviously irritating Lacko. “It was a really good mix of punches. That was completely pleasing for me,” said the 36-year-old later.