MONTE CARLO – Roger Federer marched into the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters Tuesday as the three-time finalist inflicted a 6-2, 6-1 defeat on German Philipp Kohlschreiber. World number three Federer, seeded second in the knee injury absence of Novak Djokovic, earned a sixth victory without a loss against the 32nd-ranked Kohlschreiber. “I was able to do all the things I was hoping to.” said the satisfied Swiss. “I was consistent, consistently dangerous, too. I felt well in the offense, and in the defense I was fine.
“It was a quick match but it’s up to me to back it up in the next match really.” Federer, losing finalist at the Country Club 2006-2008 against Rafael Nadal, was the first of the major players to go into action after a bye, with top seed Nadal and number three Andy Murray making their 2011 Monte Carlo debuts on Wednesday. Nadal, aiming for an historic seventh straight trophy here, had an early-morning fitness session with women’s Monte Carlo-based number one Caroline Wozniacki, who had played an exhibition at the club on Monday.
French 16th seed Gilles Simon defeated Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci 6-3, 6-2 to start his week with a win. But there was disappointment for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, with the 12th seed losing to Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. Canadian sensation Milos Raonic continued his education on clay as he plays in his first ATP event on the surface. The 20-year-old missed on four match points but still defeated Ernests Gulbis 6-4, 7-5. Ranoic, coached by a Spaniard, will next play either fourth seed David Ferrer or Feliciano Lopez. Federer’s brief and efficient victory in 50 minutes left him undefeated in 47 straight matches against Germans dating to June, 2002, when he lost to Nicolas Kiefer in Halle.
“Clearly a good start for me into the clay court season,” said the winner. “Not much I can take out of this match, I think, except maybe that I varied it well that he couldn’t play his game. “He wasn’t able to or he couldn’t really play aggressive the way maybe he was hoping to do today. “I could finish the point almost whenever I wanted to. I was actually quite surprised I was having no problems with his serve. I wasn’t struggling when he was giving me the heavy forehand roller or the backhand roller, which he’s really good at.”
