There’s just no stopping Roger Federer right now. The Swiss maestro opened his Rogers Cup campaign in emphatic fashion on Wednesday, destroying world No. 116 Peter Polansky 6-2, 6-1, in just 53 minutes of action. Federer’s definitely reaping the benefits of his extended break from tennis as he’s now off to his best start since the 2006 season. With his one-sided victory against Polansky, Federer improved to 32-2 this year.
Next up for Federer is a third-round clash with David Ferrer. The 19-time Grand Slam champion will be licking his chops at the prospect of facing Ferrer as he has fared extremely well against the Spaniard in his career. Federer has won all of his 16 previous meetings with Ferrer. Talk about dominance. Federer edged past Ferrer in their last meeting at the Rogers Cup in 2014, trouncing him in three sets, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
David Ferrer’s another guy who’s enjoying quite a resurgence in 2017. Just last month at Bastad, Ferrer defeated Alexander Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-4 in the final to win his first ATP tournament since Vienna two years ago. He’s making another deep run here in Montreal, defeating Kyle Edmund and Jack Sock in the first two rounds. Ferrer needed two hours and 20 minutes to edge past Sock on Wednesday, saving seven of the 11 break points that he faced.
For Ferrer to grab his first victory against Federer this coming Thursday, he needs to continue his solid return play. Ferrer won 45 percent of his receiving points in the second round against Sock with the Spaniard converting five of his seven break point chances. That will be crucial as Federer’s serving the lights out this season. He is third in the ATP Tour in serve rating with an incredible 303.2 clip.
Writer’s Prediction
Federer (-1,500) extends his winning streak against Ferrer to 17 matches with a 6-2, 6-3 victory.
