‘I was never in trouble’ – Roger Federer happy with performance in Shanghai Masters opener

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Roger Federer celebrates in Shanghai

Roger Federer says that he was always comfortable as he beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the second round of the Shanghai Masters.

It was Federer’s opening match of the competition, and his first, Laver Cup aside, outing since losing to Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals of the US Open.

However, his 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) win proved relatively routine despite finding himself 1-4 down in the second set tiebreak.

“I focused, because when you travel around the globe, you’re missing a bit of energy,” Federer said.

Those first few games or matches can be sometimes a bit tricky.

“[My] serve was solid. I was hitting my spots and really was never in trouble there.

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“But of course all of a sudden, being in a breaker, calls out for different play sometimes and different momentum.

“He had his chances, but it was a nice comeback for me, and overall.”

Federer, who has won the competition twice before, will next meet Belgium’s David Goffin or Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin for a place in the quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, Gael Monfils’ hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals next month suffered a blow as he lost 6-2 7-6 (1) to Hubert Hurkacz.

In the first round, Andrey Rublev upset 12th seed Borna Coric and there were also wins for John Isner, Matteo Berrettini, David Goffin and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

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