Federer Stunned in Rome
In his first match since the birth of his second set of twins, Roger Federer was upset by Jeremy Chardy in the second round of the Internazionali BDL d’Italia on Wednesday. The Frenchman battled back from a loss in the first set to claim the 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) victory.
Chardy, the 47th ranked player in the world notched his first Top 10 win of the season, and saved one match point in the final set to stun Federer. After the two traded set wins in the first two, Chardy jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the third. However, the 17-time grand slam champion Federer rallied, grabbing the next four of the next five games to go ahead 6-5 and serving for match point.
The 27-year old Chardy returned an improbable forehand crosscourt to keep his hopes alive and even the third set at 6-6. He then capitalized on his opportunity and smashed a forehand winner for match point, ending the match and pulling off the upset.
Federer showed some signs of rust after missing some time to be with his family. The Swiss cruised through the first set 6-1, but then made a number of unforced errors that allowed Chardy to climb his way back into the match. Overall, he committed 43 unforced errors including 20 in the second set alone and was never able to play well off his own serve.
Despite the sloppy play, Federer says he is not discouraged by the loss.
"Everything is under control," said Federer. “I still feel good, my body is good, my mind is good and it's just unfortunate for one passing shot today I don't get another opportunity to play this week."
It is the earliest exit from a tournament for Federer this year, who is now 28-6 overall for the year. While Federer’s tournament is over, Chardy will now move on to face Croatia’s Ivan Dodig in the third round.
