World number three, Roger Federer, returned to the clay court for the first time in three years with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Richard Gasquet at the Madrid Open on Tuesday.
Federer showed no signs of rust in the match after skipping clay-court for more than one thousand days.
The fourth-seeded dispatched his opponent in less than an hour to record his first match on clay since reaching the third round in the Spanish capital in 2016.
“It feels good to be back on the clay,” Federer said.
“I enjoyed it. Some of these rallies, where you get pushed to the side, you slide. You can play in a different manner than you do on the hard courts or the grass.”
The 37-year-old is preparing to make his first French Open appearance since 2015, after winning two hard-court titles this season in Dubai and Miami.
The fourth seed converted his three break points and didn’t concede any to the 39th-ranked Gasquet at the “Magic Box” center court.
Gasquet was playing in his first tournament after sustaining a groin injury early in the year.
“I think Richard was also maybe a little bit hurt from his match yesterday, so it was nice seeing him back after so many months being away from the tour with injury,” Federer added.
“I think for both of us it was a special match being back here in Madrid.”
Earlier, top-ranked seed, Novak Djokovic, also started his clay court season with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Taylor Fritz.
He broke the American’s serve once in the first set and twice in the second, in whuch he conceded only one break opportunity.
The Serb had seven aces and lost only two service points in the second set.
“I don’t think he was playing at his best today,” Djokovic said.
“But I think it was a solid opening match for me in the tournament.”
Djokovic is seeking his second title of the year, and third overall in Madrid. He started the year by winning the Australian Open.
In the women’s category, top-ranked Naomi Osaka defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-0 in the second round.
“I feel like in the first set, I got a bit lucky there. In the third set, I just, like, went zombie mode and then just thought of everything that I had to do to win and not necessarily the outcome,” Osaka stated.
Also, third seed, Simona Halep, defeated Johanna Konta 7-5, 6-1, while Caroline Garcia knocked out Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 3-6, 6-
Angelique Kerber, the Fourth seed, withdrew ahead of her second-round match against Petra Martic over a right ankle injury.
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