World Number 2 Roger Federer cruised past Belgian qualifier Ruben Bemelmans 6-1 6-2 in just 46 minutes in a one-sided match to reach the second round at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. Federer is just two wins away from reaching the world number 1 spot.
Federer played a very solid game in his first match in Rotterdam since 2013 converting four of his ten break points. He hit 27 winners to just seven unforced errors and dropped just four points on serve.
Federer broke serve in the second game at 15 and went up a double break in the fourth game with a backhand to race out to a 5-0 lead in the first set. Bemelmans got his first game on the socreboard with a service winner in the sixth game but Federer wrapped up the first set with a forehand winner in the next game to cruise to a 6-1 lead in just 18 minutes.
The 2017 and 2018 Australian Open champion dropped just five points on his first serve and fired five aces in the first set.
Federer, who won the Rotterdam twice, got an immediate break on his third opportunity in the first game of the second set, when Bemelmans hit his backhand long and consolidated it at love to open up a 2-0 lead. Bemelmans rallied from 15-40 down in the third game to hold his serve at deuce in the third game.
The Swiss Maestro went up a double break at 30 in the seventh game for 5-2 with a forehand pass and closed out the second set on his first match point with a smash winner setting up a second round match against Phillip Kohlschreiber, who lost all his 12 head-to-head matches against the Swiss player.
Federer has moved one step closer on clinching the world number 1 spot and becoming the oldest world number 1 player in history. André Agassi last held the record as the oldest world number 1 spot in September 2003 at the age of 33.
“It would be absolutely incredible. I can’t believe I am this close. It was very surprising how good things went today. I think the key was to start off well and put Ruben Bemelmans under pressure right away and make him feel like he had to do something special”, said Federer.
