Federer’s life has also undergone some dramatic changes.
Since capturing a record 15th grand slam singles title at Wimbledon last month, Federer and wife Mirka have become parents to twin girls, and he arrived in Montreal with his family in tow.
Federer, who celebrated his 28th birthday last Saturday, was to open his Montreal bid yesterday against Canadian hope Frederic Niemeyer, who reached the second round with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Russian Igor Kunitsyn.
Ranked world No. 487 and the oldest player in the draw, the 33-year-old wildcard also became a father recently and is counting on Federer feeling the affects of a few sleepless nights before their match.
“I also played a tournament with my daughter after two weeks and I didn’t sleep very much that week,” said Niemeyer, after notching first tour-level win since March last year. “He has two [daughters] so hopefully he sleeps none. Hopefully he’s a bit off and I’m playing well.”
Jeremy Chardy also advanced, rallying past Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 to set up a second round meeting with world No. 3 Andy Murray.
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