Roger Federer marked his return to the French Open with a straight sets defeat of Uzbekistan qualifier Denis Istomin on Monday with “the me...
Roger Federer marked his return to the French Open with a straight sets defeat of Uzbekistan qualifier Denis Istomin on Monday with “the measuring stick” remaining a delayed assault on a ninth Wimbledon title.
The 39-year-old Federer, the champion in Paris in 2009 but playing the event for only the second time since 2015, won 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 over 204th-ranked Istomin.
It was his eighth win in eight meetings with the Uzbek and gave him a second round clash against Marin Cilic, another familiar foe he has met 10 times.
Federer, who skipped the 2020 French Open, was playing just his fourth match of 2021 and first at a Slam since losing to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals last year, 487 days ago.
The need to recover from two knee surgeries plus the suspension of the tour due to the pandemic – which also saw Wimbledon cancelled – kept Federer sidelined until Qatar in March this year where he won one match.
He then stayed off tour until Geneva earlier this month where he lost first up to Pablo Andujar.
“The light at the end of the tunnel or the measuring stick was always can I come back to a good level against good players. I hope Wimbledon is going...
