“Looks Like He Was Never Away”: Alexander Zverev Heaps Praise on Roger Federer’s Performances at French Open 2021

When world number four Dominic Thiem lost his opening round match against Pablo Andujar at French Open this year, fans and pundits felt the same would happen to Swiss Maestro Roger Federer in his comeback to the Parisian clay after 2019.

But, Federer had two comfortable victories against Denis Istomin and Marin Cilic to reach the third round of Roland Garros. Even though Andujar is a tougher opponent on clay than Istomin and Cilic, Federer used his serve efficiently and won shorter points on his serve.

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“Roger Federer always finds a way” – Zverev reacts to Federer’s performance at French Open

With the Swiss star himself mentioning that he was surprised with his good level of play in the second round match, the consistency of Federer in the upcoming matches remains to be seen.

However, Alexander Zverev, who is a huge fan of the Swiss Maestro, expressed joy over Federer’s back-to-back victories in Paris. The German also added that he was not surprised to see the 20-time grand slam champion in good shape.

“Roger Federer always finds a way. You couldn’t expect him to play that well, but it’s not a surprise”, opined Zverev.

The reigning Madrid Open winner also praised the Swiss star’s incredible movement on-court.

“What surprises me a little bit is, how well he’s moving after two knee surgeries. That’s incredible. Looks like he was never away”, Zverev concluded. In both the matches, the Swiss star remained toe-to-toe with his opponent and even played some high-quality rallies.

Before coming to Paris, it’s evident that Federer decided to stick to his strengths, which is to serve at a high percentage and win points with lesser number of shots. This plan has worked well so far.

Coming to Zverev, he will have the first big challenge on the Parisian clay when he faces the three-time French Open quarter-finalist Kei Nishikori on Sunday.

After playing a five-set thriller against Karen Khachanov in the second round, the Japanese player got lucky as his third-round opponent Henri Laaksonen, retired during the match due to injury.

Also read: “Faster Than Hard Courts”: Roger Federer Compares French Open 2021 Courts to Other Courts on Tour