October 15, 2008, Madrid, Spain – Famed tennis player, Roger Federer defeats Radek Stepanek in a game of 6-3, 7-6 (6) after undergoing a five-week layoff at the Madrid Masters.
Madrid’s 2006 champion rose up from a 5-3 deficit during the tie breaker by making some really impressive shots. This includes an excellent backhand which landed squarely on the far corner of the court on match point. Federer says he is happy to be back playing, and is really happy with his first round performance. He knew it was going to be tough going against Stepanek, so he played much better during the second set.
The match is his first event on ATP after his victory at the U.S. Open a month ago. After this win, he is set to face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the Australian Open finalist. When asked about his French opponent, Federer says he is excited. After Tsonga battled with an injury-filled season, Federer feels that Tsonga is one of those players who people want to see play.
Novak Djokovic, on the other hand, won against Victor Hanescu after the latter retired from the game after suffering from groin injury as he was trailing behind Djokovic. The win gave the relieved Djokovic a boost for the coming matches.
Nikolay Davydenko, however, was upset by American tennis pro Robby Ginepri in a game of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Davydenko committed a whopping 53 errors over the two ending sets, which gave Ginepri an opening to win. And win, he did.
