Roger Federer rallied to beat Daniel Brands 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Wednesday at the German Tennis Championships in his first match since his second-round loss at Wimbledon last month.
Using a bigger racket for the first time, Federer served three aces in the opening game but still lost his serve and ultimately the set to the German. The former No. 1 broke once in the second set and twice in the decider to reach the third round. Federer is a four-time winner in Hamburg, the city where he won his first title in 2002 to break into the top 10. After losing at Wimbledon Federer dropped to No. 5 in the rankings, the first time in a decade that he’s been that low.
Brands, who celebrated his 26th birthday Wednesday and received a cake after the match, received few presents from the top-seeded Federer in the last two sets. However, the Swiss star needed four match points to close it out. He finished with nine aces on the clay-court surface. “It was a tough match, Daniel is playing a very good season,” Federer said.Federer will play qualifier Jan Hajek of the Czech Republic, who beat 15th-seeded Ernests Gulbis of latvia 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Tommy Haas outlasted qualifier Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the third round.
The second-seeded Haas blew a 4-1 lead in the third set but held serve and then broke to clinch the match when Kavcic sent a forehand long. “At the end, it’s the victory that counts,” Haas said. Haas was runner-up in the tournament last year and is the oldest player in the top 100 at 35. He is looking for his second title at home this season, after winning in Munich.