The defending champion had escaped at the Australian Open, and he knew it after five demanding sets against Gilles Simon of France yesterday.
Simon was one of only three men on the tour - beside Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray - with a winning record against the Swiss great. Federer raced to a two-set lead in a second-round night match, and seemed in the clear. He had never lost while so far ahead in a Grand Slam tournament.
Then Simon, who beat Federer twice in 2008 on hard courts in their only two previous encounters, started to take more risks, moving the 16-time Grand Slam champion out of his comfort zone. But Federer persevered, finishing off a 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory on his fifth match point.
"I'm happy I survived a scare like today. It's not the first time ... it does happen," he said. "You just try to stay calm even though I'm not playing for much. He's playing for the huge upset, and I'm just trying to get through. But, look, I handled it well tonight, and I'm very happy that things turned out so nicely at the end."
In the third set, Federer's reliable forehand started to falter. In the fourth, the shots that usually touch the lines were missing. The shoulders started slouching. Simon is no pushover - he has beaten Nadal and Novak Djokovic and been ranked as high as No. 6.
"Well, I'm stressing out at this point, obviously," Federer explained in an oncourt interview.
In the fifth, Federer recovered. But even when he had triple match point on Simon's serve, he couldn't finish it off immediately.
"I was like, 'This can't be true, right?'" Federer said. "I had some tough losses last year. Obviously, they're in the past and I've had a wonderful last six months. But sometimes it just doesn't seem to go your way. I really had to play an extremely good game to close it out. Obviously, I was quite relieved. "
It's been 31 major tournaments, dating to the 2003 French Open, since Federer failed to reach the third round at a Grand Slam.
"Look, at the end of the day I'm happy I'm through," he said. "That's what it comes down to. Doesn't matter if you win in straight or in five. Just keep on moving on in the draw and give yourself an opportunity ... stay alive and feel good."
Simon's ranking has dropped because he was off the tour with a knee problem for long periods last year, but he came into the Open after winning the tuneup event in Sydney. His ranking was in the 30s, but without a seeding the draw worked against him.
"I'm just sad that I had to play Roger this soon in the tournament," he said. "Even with a very good match from me, it was not enough. Of course, it's good to play this kind of match. The problem is I lost second round, and tomorrow you will forget it and I will have to work for the next tournament."
