World No. 1 Roger Federer, playing his first match for six weeks, beat qualifier Olivier Rochus in straight sets on Monday to open his defense of his Swiss Indoors ATP title.
Federer, who has not played since the Davis Cup world group playoff against Italy in September, won 6-3, 6-4 against the world No. 61 from Belgium.
One service break in each set was enough for Federer, who was playing in front of his home crowd at a tournament where he was once a ball boy and which he has won for the last three years.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The Swiss, who suffered a stunning defeat to Juan Martin del Potro in the US Open final, has opted to rest since then, pulling out of two ATP tournaments.
Federer, who maintained a 100 percent record in seven meetings with Rochus, looked fresh although the Belgian held his own until he was broken in the sixth game.
“I was eager to come out and play again and it was a good match for me,” Federer told reporters.
PHOTO: EPA
“It was nice to come back at a home tournament where I have so many memories. It was a nice start,” he said. “I thought I served well at the key moments. He got the better of me off the baseline, but I tried to stay aggressive.”
“The conditions here were quick, with the heat of the crowd, and I’ll have to get used to that,” Federer said.
“I always try to have an off-season within the season,” he added.
“It’s not so easy to do because I like to play as much as possible but the joy is even greater when you come back off a break,” he said.
Federer will face Italy’s Andreas Seppi in the next round.
■VALENCIA OPEN
REUTERS, VALENCIA, SPAIN
Nikolay Davydenko made a smooth start to his latest bid to grab a place at the World Tour Finals with a 6-2, 6-1 first-round win over qualifier Alejandro Falla at the Valencia Open on Monday.
A title for the Russian world No. 7 would go a long way to securing one of two remaining spots in London at the end of this month.
Seeded second behind Britain’s Andy Murray, Davydenko broke Colombian Falla five times, losing his own serve once, and came through in just over an hour at the hard court event.
World No. 4 Murray, has been sidelined since the US Open in September with a wrist injury.
“The wrist is fine,” the Scot said on his Web site. “I’m still icing it and exercising it but it’s tough to do too much about it specifically.”
“I’ve played two matches in nine weeks, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I play poorly at first, but I will try my best,” he said.
■SERENA IN THE MONEY
REUTERS, SINGAPORE
Serena Williams has set a single-season prize money record on the women’s tour by earning US$6,545,586 this year, according to the Women’s Tennis Association.
The 11-times Grand Slam champion and world No. 1 now has career earnings approaching US$30 million.
“It’s incredible how much women’s tennis has grown in the last few years and that the Tour has increased our prize money so significantly,” Williams said in a statement.
“We are very fortunate to have an opportunity to be so well rewarded for doing something we love,” she said.
Williams eclipsed the previous record of US$5,429,586 set by Belgian Justine Henin in 2007.
Earlier this year, Williams also surpassed Lindsay Davenport as record holder in career prize money earnings on the Tour.
The American won the season-ending Championships as well as Australian Open and Wimbledon crowns this season this year.
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