After a phenomenal two-week run at Roland Garros, the tennis action shifts now to the classy grass court tournaments ahead of the prestigious Wimbledon Championships. 20-time grand slam champion Roger Federer, who enjoys an excellent record on grass courts, is planning to stage a huge comeback on grass this year.

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Roger Federer had a shaky start to his grass-court campaign at Halle

In a return to his favorite surface after almost two years, Federer managed to overcome initial rustiness to send off Ilya Ivashka in the first round of Halle Open, 7-6,7-5. It was a close contest where the Swiss Maestro struggled to find his range till the first-set tie-breaker.

Ivashka, on the other hand, played flawless tennis till the breaker and couldn’t initiate an aggressive game against the Swiss star. Despite the shaky start, Federer played the tie-breaker well and didn’t give any chance for Ivashka to make his move.

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In fact, Federer’s serve saved the day for him as he didn’t falter in that department alone. Even in the second set, the Swiss Maestro tried hard to shrug off the rustiness and play freely. But, the Belarusian consistently held his serve and it appeared as if the second set would also be decided on a tie-breaker.

With loads of experience up his sleeve, the former world number upped the ante at the right moment and used his chip returns to good effect. But, Ivashka made Federer earn the victory by saving three match points on his serve before hitting a forehand into the net.

“Everyone else hasn’t played on the grass either” – Federer

Talking to the press post-victory, the former world number one mentioned his expectations for the grass-court season this year.

“We’re all in the same boat. Everyone else hasn’t played on the Grass either for the last couple of years. My goals for Wimbledon are clearly quite high. But if it doesn’t work out in Halle, I have another week practice”, Federer said.

At the Noventi Open, the Swiss Maestro had a tough draw as he might face the likes of young players like Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev. However, Federer remains optimistic about his chances in Halle and also at Wimbledon.

From what the Swiss has been saying so far in numerous interviews, it appears as if he would like to be match-fit not just for Wimbledon but also on the tour next year.

Roger Federer will face the winner of Felix Auger-Aliassime and Hubert Hurkacz in the second round of Halle Open.

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