Roger Federer debuted the controversial blue clay in Madrid 2012 against Milos Raonic. The Swiss survived all the challenges to prevail in the deciding tie break and set the third-round encounter with Richard Gasquet. In the previous 11 meetings, the Swiss scored nine wins over the Frenchman.
The tenth one was never in doubt, as he sprinted past Gasquet 6-3, 6-2 in 58 minutes to find himself in the quarter-final. Federer lost 15 points in nine service games and fended off both break chances to keep the initial shot intact and mount the pressure on the opponent.
Gasquet could not match those numbers, as he got broken three times to push Roger into the last eight. Federer fired 31 winners and 18 unforced errors, holding the strings of the match firmly in his hands and overpowering the rival in every segment.
It was important for Roger to score such a dominant win in under an hour after losing a lot of energy in the first clash. Also, he gathered a boost ahead of the next obstacle.
Roger Federer defeated Richard Gasquet in under an hour in Madrid 2012.
Roger made a great start and closed the opening game with a forehand winner.
He delivered another comfortable hold in game three and stole Gasquet’s serve with a return winner to open a 3-1 lead. Another bullet from his forehand pushed Federer further in front before experiencing the first troubles on serve in game seven.
The Swiss fended off a break chance to keep his initial shot intact and open a 5-2 gap. Serving for the set in the ninth game, Roger landed four service winners to get the job done in 27 minutes, looking good on the court and hoping for more of the same in set number two.
Unable to follow that pace or impose his strokes, Richard hit a double fault in the second set’s first game to suffer an instant break. With nothing working his way, he sprayed a backhand error at 1-3 to fall further behind.
On the other hand, Federer did everything right and got the opportunity to serve for the victory at 5-2. The Frenchman created a break chance that Roger denied with an ace down the T line before sealing the deal with two more aces to find himself in the quarter-final.
