Roger Federer drops a set against Marin Cilic, but advances to the third round

He must have worked hard, but he will play well in the third round. Roger Federer defeated Marin Cilic in the second round of the Roland Garros Championship on Thursday, June 3 in four sets and 2:35 hours of play (6-2, 2-6, 7-6, 6-2). The No. 8 seed gave an uneven performance under the threatening atmosphere, and the oddly scattered Central Court stands on a caliber poster. But like a storm that was not shaken despite the dance of the black clouds, Federer came out of it.

The Swiss quickly got on the track with a break Cilic in the third game of the match, which allowed him to take the initiative until the win (6-2). It seems easy that this first group, however, will send out warning signals. All but the last of his service games have been challenged. And what Marin Cilic had hidden 12 non-compulsory fouls became a real problem in the second set.

Less accurate than in the first set, doubling the number of easy fouls (from 5 to 10), Roger Federer failed to hide his serve failure. With 79% of the first balls but only 59% of the points scored above, the Swiss lost two service games allowing his opponent to draw one inning all around. Before Thursday, we had to go back to the 2012 edition and his victory in four sets over Adrian Ungur to find the trail of a group that the Swiss gave up during one of the first two rounds of Roland Garros.

A sign of an unusual day, Federer collected a warning in the middle of the second set for exceeding the rebounding serve time limit. He didn’t like it and let her know. “Are you listening to me or talking? I listened to you now it’s my turn to speakHe said in the middle of two minutes of discussion with the chair referee. The man with 20 Grand Slam titles is back in action in a very close third round who has been poor in the long rallies.

Suddenly, the services of both opponents became very reliable weapons. From the seventh inning to 6-6 in this third set, six consecutive lock-ups (27 points in a row for the server) were checked. A trend that crystallized even in the decisive match, where Marin Cilic’s double error at 1-2 – the only point he lost in the confrontation – allowed Federer to reclaim his serve to lead two sets to one.

Marin Cilic charged for the hit after losing a tie, and was punished for his lack of mobility in the fourth set. For the third year in a row at Roland Garros, the Croatian will not pass the second round. It must be said that the draw wasn’t kind to him, barely a year after he fell to Dominic Thiem in the first round. It is Roger Federer who will appear in the third round against world number 59 Dominic Kupfer, who qualified at the expense of Taylor Fritz in four sets (6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4). .

“You played a very good match. I was a little surprised he did that at 2:30 against Marin. I had very good moments, especially in the tiebreak. It shows that I still have the reserve and that I have some energy left. It is very important for trust. I wasn’t expecting to be at this level. So facing the left-handed person in the next round will change a lot of things. But I’m very happy to be in the third roundThe Swiss reacted warmly to the ocher of the court, Philippe Chatrier.

Roger surprises himself again

Happy with his level of play. Tweet embed He remembers his victory over Marin Cilic.#Roland Garros pic.twitter.com/9DLRRdBNry

Roland Garros June 3, 2021