Fourth seed Roger Federer buried his Wimbledon demons on Monday after beating
South Korea's Lee Hyung-taik 6-3 6-3 7-6 in the first round on
Monday.
Despite having a game naturally suited to grass, the talented Swiss
had only once made it past the opening round in his four previous
visits.
That was in 2001, when he upset seven-times champion Pete Sampras in
the fourth round before losing in the quarters.
Since then the 21-year-old
has been tagged the next Sampras, only to fail miserably on the big
stage.
Having succumbed in the first round of the French Open and Wimbledon
last year, Federer was yet again an opening-round casualty at Roland Garros last
month.
"It was a difficult first round and I'm happy to make it in three
because it got quite tight in the end," said a clearly relieved
Federer.
Though defending champion Lleyton Hewitt was knocked out earlier on
Monday, Federer remained realistic about his Wimbledon chances.
"I saw what
happened to Lleyton before I walked on court but obviously it happened to me
last year so I know how it feels," said the Swiss, who had been scheduled to
meet Hewitt in the semis.
"I now may have a bigger chance but I can't think
about winning the tournament now as there's a long way to go.
"Lleyton may be
out but there are plenty of other favourites around."
TRACK RECORD
Federer, who lost to Mario Ancic 12 months ago, was
determined to improve his All England Club track record on Monday against the
55th-ranked South Korean.
Approaching the net at every opportunity, he took
the opening set in 24 minutes after unleashing an unreturnable serve on his
first set point.
But Federer faltered at the start of the second and allowed
Lee to take a 3-1 lead.
Federer cut back on his unforced errors to break back
and clinch the second set.
The Swiss, who claimed his first grasscourt title
in Halle eight days ago, appeared to be cruising to a straightforward win in the
third.
Closing out the match, however, proved to be tricky. The world number
five failed to convert seven match points during the third set as Lee unleashed
an flurry of forehand and volley winners to stay alive.
With Lee refusing to
back down, the match went into a tiebreak.
Having hung around for more than
20 minutes after earning his first match point, Federer finally booked his place
in the second round on his eighth attempt after a Lee crosscourt shot sailed
wide.
