The grass-court events have begun, and it was Swiss ace Roger Federer up against Belarusian player Ilya Ivashka in the first round of the ATP Noventi Open 2021. It was their first-ever meeting and it was the Swiss maestro who got the job done in a little over 90 minutes, winning 7-6(4) 7-5.

Set 1: Roger Federer strikes late but gets the job done 

In the opening game, the Belarusian player held the service game with ease. In the sixth game of the set, Roger Federer faced a scare as his opponent got a glimpse of two breakpoints. However, the experience of the veteran came in handy and the score was leveled. 

It was all squared and the set had to be decided in a tiebreaker. Interestingly, the tiebreaker was not as tight as the set; within minutes, Federer was 6-1 up. In the end, he won the set 7-6 (4) in close to 45 minutes. 

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Although the Belarusian player lost the set, he ended up winning more points during the set. Ivashka won 39 points whereas Federer won 35 points during set number one.

Set 2: Ilya Ivashka fails to match up the Swiss stars experience

The Swiss maestro opened proceedings in the set and held serve. During this set, both Ilya Ivashka and the former World No. 1 were holding their service game cautiously. 

The set was quite even until the ninth game. During that game, Federer got his first match point opportunity but did not manage to convert it. Eventually, Ivashka did well to keep the Swiss star at bay. 

In the 12th game, the Swiss ace had three opportunities to clinch the set and the match and he sailed through eventually, winning the set 7-5. 

It was a good start for the Swiss player after withdrawing from the French Open 2021. Roger Federer will now face the winner of the match between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Hubert Hurkacz in the second round of the ATP Halle Open 2021. 

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