Shaken Roger Federer vows to bounce back from shock defeat by Ernests Gulbis

No sooner had he helped to cut the ribbon for the official opening of the towering new Centre Court at the Foro Italico yesterday than Roger Federer became its first conspicuous victim.
For the first time in seven visits here since he assumed the world No 1 ranking, Federer was hurried from the scene at the BNL d’Italia Masters as Latvia’s Ernests Gulbis reannounced himself as a class act.
Only last month, British tennis was lamenting the progress of Lithuania as a force as the Balkan nation won a Davis Cup tie between the countries, a result that cost the captain, John Lloyd, his job, prompted a review of priorities at home and was cited as one of the reasons why Andy Murray’s game suddenly went Awol. The signs last night were that Murray’s recovery process has begun with a vengeance, an emphatic 6-2, 6-4 first-round victory over Andreas Seppi, of Italy, halting a run of three consecutive defeats.
Murray served with particular aplomb to secure his place in the third round; Gulbis produced a succession of bullet-like deliveries that peppered Federer’s defences. The 21-year-old — ranked outside the top 100 last September — has recovered his teenage poise, surged to No 40 and his 2-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory as thunder rumbled, will cause the Swiss to stop and think about what he must do on clay to add to his 16-strong grand slam title collection when he starts the defence of his French Open crown in 3½ weeks.
If anyone can do it, Federer can. He is the master of compartmentalising defeats, steadying the ship and turning on the grace and style when it really matters, in best-of-five-set occasions. It was clear from watching him practise that the Swiss was loose and apparently unconcerned that he was shanking so many routine shots. Although he sped through the first set, the minute Gulbis sharpened his range-finder, he took great delight in imposing his game on the world’s best.
Gulbis needed seven match points to secure victory, six being squandered in the tenth game with a mixture of outrageously brave serving and monstrous mis-hits. “I was shaking, it was a terrible feeling,” Gulbis said.
But Federer’s serve had been hit and miss throughout the final set and he conceded the advantage Gulbis had given him right back to his opponent. The Latvian then served out to love.
“You cannot be 100 per cent all the time,” Federer said. “Sometimes it takes a loss like this to wake up and shake your mind. It can be that things are too simple, and days like this make you realise how difficult it is to dominate the tour. I didn’t feel safe at any time today, my game wasn’t up to its normal standard. Of course Roland Garros is in the back of my mind but I have two tournaments to get the wins I need. And I’m still in the doubles.”
Once you heard the first “C’mon” from Murray in the opening game against Seppi, there was a sense that his focus, so woolly in Monte Carlo the week before last, had returned. The movement was good, the serve clinical, the double-handed backhand had verve, his whole demeanour was enhanced. A good evening’s work.