Rome: Roger Federer made a winning return to the clay after last week’s back pain, with the Swiss icon beating German teenager Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-5 in the second round of the Rome Masters on Wednesday.
The match, lasting 89 minutes, was the first for the 34-year-old Swiss since losing a Monte Carlo quarter-final to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga nearly a month ago.
The 17-time Grand Slam winner was due to play last week in Madrid but withdrew with back pain. He came to Rome early to train, drawing 6,000 fans to a weekend practice session.
He has laid low in recent days, declining pre-match media responsibilities as he waited to let his racquet speak for him and his current clay form.
Federer is playing at the Foro Italico for the 16th time as he seeks his first title here. The Swiss has finished runner-up four times, most recently last year against Novak Djokovic.
In women’s second-round play, Spanish third seed Garbine Muguruza crushed Russian Ekaterina Makarova 6-1, 6-0 while Madrid quarter-finalist Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania upset injured fourth seed Victoria Azarenka 6-3, 6-2. Czech Barbora Strycova beat Britain’s Heather Watson 6-4, 6-2.
