Federer eases through at French Open

Roger Federer negotiated a potentially-tricky first-round tie against Feliciano Lopez in fine style at the French Open this afternoon.

The world number three, who next plays French wild card Maxime Teixeira, knows all about the dangers of the experienced Spaniard having saved match point in their recent meeting at the Masters 1000 event in Madrid.

Federer has not been at his best on clay this season, failing to reach a final, but he looked confident throughout on Court Philippe Chatrier as he wrapped up a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7/3) victory.

After Novak Djokovic’s destruction of Thiemo De Bakker beforehand, this match took a while to get going but, when Federer broke for the first time in the eighth game, the first set was all but over.

The Swiss, champion at Roland Garros in 2009, was serving particularly well, not allowing Lopez a single break point, and he continued to do just enough with one break at 2-2 in the second set.

The third was a tight affair up until the tie-break, when Lopez threw in a couple of unforced errors to give Federer a lead he never looked like relinquishing, and the third seed clinched victory in style with his 12th ace.