rogerfederer.com - Roger with tough first match

Roger with tough first match

Roger had a rather rusty start at the Japan Open before overcoming unseeded Viktor Troicki 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) on Wednesday to reach the third round.

Roger had trouble finding his rhythm against Troicki, who is ranked 276th and is playing in his first top level ATP tournament. "It was a really tough match," said Roger. "I didn't know his game. I've never seen him play and it always takes time to figure a player out."

Qualifier Troicki, who beat Spain's Fernando Vicente in the first round, took advantage of some uncharacteristic unforced errors from Roger to make the match closer than it should have been.

It was hardly the performance Japanese fans were expecting from Roger, who is playing in his first tournament since winning the U.S. Open — his 9th Grand Slam singles title and third major for 2006.

Troicki relied on a strong serve to throw Roger off his game. The 20-year-old Serbian player fired nine aces. "I couldn't get a read on his serve," said Roger. "He mixed it up well. This was my first match of the tournament so I wanted to play it safe and get a rhythm."

Roger will face defending champion Wesley Moodie of South Africa in the next round. Moodie, seeded 13th, cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 win over Austria's Stefan Koubek. "It will be another tough match," said Roger. "Moodie is great server but I got through my first match and hopefully will be ready for the next one."