PARIS—It could hardly have been a more comfortable entry into Roger Federer’s ninth Paris Masters—a neat and uncomplicated 6-2, 6-3 victory over Adrian Mannarino on Wednesday.
Federer badly missed a forehand on the opening point of the match in his service game, but then won four straight to take it. The rout was on and Mannarino never threatened the current world No. 4, with Federer breaking serve at 2-1 and 5-2 to take the set in just 24 minutes.
It turned out that the second set was not much different—with a service break again coming at 2-1.
Mannarino needed a five-minute injury time-out at the end of the first game of the second set after falling and skinning a couple of fingers on his left (playing) hand after falling while chasing a drop shot. It didn’t seem to make a difference either way, and Federer, exhibiting almost faultless form, wound up winning the match in just 55 minutes. He had beaten the Frenchman 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in the second round at Wimbledon, and it was more of the same before a good crowd in the POPB (Palais Omnipsorts Paris-Bercy).
In a recent interview, Mannarino described his game by saying that he didn’t have much of a serve, didn’t move that well, but returned well. But he didn’t even do that against Federer, only winning three of 26 points on Federer’s first serve, and just one of 11 on his second.
In his media conference, the No. 85-ranked Mannarino was asked what it would take for him to be more competitive with players of Federer’s caliber. “I don’t know, maybe a better serve, and to be able to win more easy points,” he said. “I had the feeling that I had to work really hard to win my points.
Federer, who had an efficient 16 winners against seven unforced errors, said on-court afterward: “I’m really happy. It was a great match and a great atmosphere. I feel really good—confidence means a lot in sports.”
The crowd was eager to get more involved today, but Mannarino, described as “a lightweight” by a French reporter I spoke with after the match, was unable to be competitive. Maybe the most excitement came when the large scoreboard screen showed Italian great Nicola Pietrangeli and tennis trickster Mansour Bahrami, followed by Amélie Mauresmo and Guy Forget together during a second-set changeover. Needless to say, the latter pair got the loudest and most sustained cheer.
Next for Federer is Richard Gasquet in Thursday’s round-of-16. “He beat me 7-6 in the third set in Rome,” the Swiss said on court today. “I hope it will be a fun match for the crowd.”
—Tom Tebbutt