Roger Federer defeated Juan Ignacio Chela in Great Style
Roger Federer took the court for his first match of this year's Rogers Cup presented by National Bank on Tuesday night and did not disappoint the fans who have been anxiously waiting all week long to see the Swiss superstar in action. Federer defeated Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela in straight sets 7-6, 6-3 in front of a sold-out crowd at Rexall Centre. Federer is coming off of a six-week break, making Toronto his first action since Wimbledon. The former No. 1 player has dropped to No. 3 in the world for the first time since 2003 but isn't letting this unfamiliar territory rattle his confidence. He uses it as motivation.
"I look at what I've achieved in my career, what I want to achieve, and what I've done in the past few weeks," said Federer. "I haven't been winning matches, and other guys are doing well so they deserve it. Rankings usually don't lie, so it's up to me to make a move now."
Federer's countryman Stanislas Wawrinka played the final match of the day against Canadian Frank Dancevic. Dancevic could not contend with Wawrinka's strong serve, which helped finish the match in straight sets 6-1, 6-4.
In earlier matches, Tomas Berdych overpowered Sergiy Stakhovsky in their second round match 6-2, 6-4. Stakhovsky struggled with his return game and could not halt Berdych's attacks on break point. "Well, I mean, it was quite tough match even though the score doesn't look good," said Berdych. "I need to stay really focused for every point. That's what I did, and I'm happy that I can go through."
Canadian wildcard Pierre-Ludovic Duclos fell to Yen-Hsun Lu 6-4, 6-4. Lu continues to progress and gain popularity with tennis fans, particularly after his quarter-final upset of then No.7 ranked Andy Roddick at Wimbledon.
David Nalbandian defeated Spanish star David Ferrer in three sets 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. It was a close contest, but the Argentinean ultimately pulled out the win to move on to the second round.
"Well, I think my shots are a little bit more offensive," said Nalbandian. "He's very tough player from the baseline, very solid. He doesn't make a lot of mistakes, so when I play offensive on hardcourts, I always try to get more the point a little faster, and hardcourts help me.
In second round doubles action, Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner eliminated Canadian hopefuls Vasek Pospisil and Milos Raonic. Pospisil and Raonic upset superstar team Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal on Monday night in arguably the biggest match of their young careers.
In the middle of the two evening matches, Canada honoured its top athletes with the Tennis Canada Everyday Champions Excellence Awards. The 2009 winners were Daniel Nestor for Male Player of the Year and Male Doubles Player of the Year, Frank Dancevic for Male Singles Player of the Year, Vasek Pospisil for Most Improved Male Player and Zachary White for Outstanding Junior Male.