Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal took very different first steps towards what could be the 23rd shoot-out of their famous rivalry on Saturday in the Qatar Open
Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal took very different first steps towards what could be the 23rd shoot-out of their famous rivalry on Saturday in the Qatar Open.
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| Roger Federer returns to Thomas Schoorel of the Netherlands during their Round One match of the Qatar Open |
Nadal won comfortably against Karol Beck 6-3, 6-0, but Federer had to survive three successive set points against Thomas Schoorel to win 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.
Federer also brought the house down just before the end by striking a sensational winner from between his legs, which he described as one of the best shots of his career. But the legend gave praise to the 21-year-old Dutch qualifier.
"I thought he was a better player in the first set," Federer said. "I really felt I started getting into the match once I saved those set points, so I just got a bit of a better read on his serve.
"I was able to stay calm, go after what I wanted to do, you know, to play really tough tennis."
He added: "He got me sort of doubting what I wanted to do. So at the end of the day, I was just trying to be solid, and then once I got into the lead tried to get aggressive again, which I was able to do."
Nadal never looked like suffering alarms. "It was not easy," he maintained. "It's important not to underestimate the opponent and it's difficult to keep my standard high. Every day that's my challenge ufffd to keep my level high, every day to try my best, every day working hard."
