Federer struggles but beats Ginepri

Source: Agencies  |   2008-7-31  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

Svetlana Kuznetsova hits a return during her 6-1, 1-0 victory over an injured Alla Kudryavtseva at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Tuesday. More in photo gallery

---

ROGER Federer was relieved to shake off last week's early round loss in Toronto and beat Robby Ginepri 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 6-0 on Tuesday in his first match at the Cincinnati Masters in Mason, Ohio.

"I'm happy I'm back with a one-match winning streak," Federer joked. "I'm happy I could turn it around today."

Andy Roddick wasn't so fortunate. The sixth-seeded American withdrew just before his match with Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany was to begin, citing neck and shoulder pain.

Roddick asked for the public address microphone and told spectators that he didn't think he could get through his match and withdrew to allow another player to compete. Jun Woong-sun of South Korea took his place.

Ginepri was 0-4 against the top-ranked Swiss going into the match, but pressured him through two sets until Federer wore him down and Ginepri began missing with his first serve. The American said he had trouble breathing and had a stomachache - which he chalked up to nerves that got worse as the match progressed.

"I feel 100 percent better than I did on the court," he said after lying down for 10 minutes after the match.

The US$2.6-million Western & Southern Financial Group Masters is Federer's second tournament since having his Wimbledon title streak broken by second-ranked Rafael Nadal. A week ago, Federer was ousted from the Toronto Masters in the second round, and his No. 1 ranking would have been in danger if that had happened again this week.

Nadal could still overtake Federer if the Spaniard wins the Cincinnati title and the Swiss loses before the semifinals.

On center court just before the Federer match, Carlos Moya of Spain beat Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia 7-6 (5), 7-5.