World No. 1 Roger Federer advanced to the third round of the Indian Wells Masters after he earned a scrappy win over his Argentine opponent Federico Delbonis in his rain-delayed opener on Sunday.
Federer, who is the defending champion in Indian Wells, triumphed 6-3, 7-6 in a contest that was suspended midway on Saturday due to rain. Upon recommencement on Sunday, the 67th ranked Delbonis played exceptionally well, forcing a tie-break, but the Swiss maestro proved to be too good in the end. He wrapped up his 13th consecutive win of 2018, after an hour and 41 minutes, saving a set point in the second set.
It wasn’t a rock solid performance from the top seed, with an uncharacteristic 40 unforced errors, including 22 unforced errors made on his forehand. Delbonis, on the other hand, only committed 16 unforced errors.
After his victory, Federer acknowledged he struggled with the conditions. He told atpworldtour.com: “They play very different. In the nighttime, the ball is much more deader. The surface doesn’t react so much. The ball doesn’t travel so fast. Even though I served my five aces yesterday, I hit none today. So talking about faster, I just think there is more bounce to it, especially if you play someone who has a lot of spin like he has and kicks the ball around a lot. It’s been a long time since I have been interrupted at night and have to come back the next day.”
The 20-time Grand Slam champion will take on Filip Krajinovic of Serbia for a place in the fourth round on Monday. Krajinovic earned his date with Federer after his 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Mitchell Krueger of the United States during the weekend.
