Roger Federer returns with a win in Cincinnati

Roger Federer remains unbeaten in Cincinnati since 2013 thanks to a straight-sets victory over Peter Gojowczyk in his opening match at the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday night.

Federer defeated the German 6-4 6-4 to set up a meeting in the last 16 with Leonardo Mayer, who overcame 16th seed Lucas Pouille.

Pouille had a day earlier stopped Andy Murray in the first round.

This one goes to 11!

????????????@rogerfederer stretches his #CincyTennis winning streak to 11 with a 6-4 6-4 win over Peter Gojowczyk. pic.twitter.com/sCPZzEP2hJ

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 15, 2018

Another second-round match played out late on Tuesday night, with Canada’s Denis Shapovalov beating 14th seed Kyle Edmund 6-4 7-5.

Remaining first-round matches were also completed on Tuesday, with 11th seed David Goffin beating last week’s breakout star Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5 6-3 while Nick Kyrgios and Borna Coric set up an intriguing second-round clash after wins over qualifiers.

Former world No.3 Milos Raonic, last week’s Toronto semifinalist Karen Khachanov, and Hyeon Chung – who handed the slumping Jack Sock another loss – also advanced to round two.

Federer kicks off Cincy campaign

This was Federer’s first appearance on court since his quarterfinal loss to Kevin Anderson at Wimbledon more than a month ago. It was also his first appearance at the Cincinnati Masters since 2015.

Considering these absences he was impressive, racking up 12 aces, winning 79 per cent of first serve points and saving all five break points he faced to win in customarily rapid fashion – just 72 minutes elapsed on the clock.

“I think Centre Court plays faster than the outside courts, so there’s always a slight adjustment to make there,” Federer told Tennis Channel.

“Peter was going for his shots – big serving, big cuts at the ball on the return as well, so not much rhythm. Saving a lot of break points myself, I think that was the key to clearly win that first set.

“I’m just really happy with that kind of a first round for me after not having played since Wimbledon.”

"I'm happy I'm healthy this time around…"@RogerFederer is back in Cincinnati for the first time since 2015.
The 7-time champ spoke to us following his win.#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/iJYj9aPxD1

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 15, 2018

Federer extended some impressive streaks at the hard-court event in Ohio. He’s now won 12 straight sets at the tournament and 11 straight matches, having won the titles in his last two appearances in 2014 and 2015.

His last loss in Cincinnati came against Rafael Nadal in the 2013 quarterfinals.

“I’m only feeling better every day that has gone by after Wimbledon,” Federer said.

“It’s nice to have played a match so my last match is not the Anderson match, so you’ve kind of turned the page, I guess, in that regard. It’s a good thing.”

Feeling less good was Tsitsipas, who after last week’s heroics in Toronto came crashing back to earth with his straight-sets loss to Goffin.

The Greek 20-year-old held eight break points but could only convert one as he fell at the first hurdle in Cincinnati.

“It felt like my mind was lying to me. It felt like I wanted to win, but at the same time, it was not like a big deal for me, which I was pretty worried about,” he admitted.

Tsitsipas:"it felt like my mind was lying to me. It felt like I wanted to win, but at the same time, it was not like a big deal for me, which I was pretty worried about. I don't know why I felt like this."

"I think my mind was just off. It was not there. My body was okay."

— Tennis Panorama News (@TennisNewsTPN) August 14, 2018

Goffin – who had lost five of his past seven matches before beating Tsitsipas – progresses to a second-round meeting with fellow Francophone Benoit Paire.