Roger Federer returns to practice court after admitting to ‘poor’ Miami Open performance
ROGER FEDERER has wasted little time in attempting to fix the problems which hampered him during his win over Radu Albot on Saturday.
In his first ever match against Albot, Federer was expected to come through comfortably but he dropped serve in his opening service game and lost the first set 6-4.
Federer then had to save further break points in the second set before eventually coming through 7-5.
The Swiss broke Albot late in the third set and served out the match with little fuss but the relief at winning was clear.
But the statistics would have been grim viewing for Federer after an error-strewn display.
Federer converted just two of his eight break points chances, won 30 per cent of first serve return points and made 41 unforced errors.
“In the heat of the moment, I started forgetting stuff also that my coach told me,” Federer said.
“I felt like all the important points, points that could have led to something interesting for me, I played poorly because I was in two minds.
“Margins are slim. Then you're down. When you're down, you got to play differently.
Fresh off of his win last night, @rogerfederer takes the court for a practice session. @MiamiOpen | @itau pic.twitter.com/lbmtl2wg5Q
— Hard Rock Stadium (@HardRockStadium) March 24, 2019
“At the end it's just about finding a way.”
Nevertheless, Federer was back on the practice court early in the day, working on his game.
And he will need to be at his best if he wants to beat his next opponent, Filip Krajinovic.
They have met twice before with Federer winning both matches but Krajinovic will be full of confidence after beating Stan Wawrinka.
Krajinovic beat David Goffin and Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells last week and Federer says he is anticipating another tough match.
“I practised with him in Australia and he played very well against me there, and I like his game,” he said.
“He takes the ball early, he can keep the ball in play, he can take on the backhand down the line and he is very steady.
“With his talent, it makes him a dangerous player plus he has beaten Stan [Wawrinka] today so I’m sure he’s ready.”