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Federer opens in Estoril against Phau

Roger Federer will kick off his 2010 Estoril Open campaign on Wednesday afternoon when he takes on Bjorn Phau for the third time in his career.

It probably comes as a surprise to know that Phau has actually defeated Federer, and if it’s hard to remember when it happened, there’s a reason for that. Federer and Phau first faced each other 11 years ago--way back in 1999--when Federer was 17 years old.

Phau prevailed 6-2, 6-3 at the Legg Mason Classic; for those counting, that was the 22nd ATP-level match of Federer’s career. Eight years later, Federer exacted 7-5, 6-0, 6-4 revenge in the first round of the 2007 Australian Open.

Federer is not on top of his game at the moment but he is, of course, still a monumental favorite in this one. The Swiss is the reigning French Open, Wimbledon, and Australian Open champion and his grip on the No. 1 ranking should be secure for at least the next two months. Federer, however, is still looking for his first clay-court win of the season as he lost his Rome opener last week to eventual semifinalist Ernests Gulbis.

At 30 years old, Phau registers at No. 138 in the world, almost 90 spots off his career-high. The 5’9’’ German has to spend about half of his time on the Challenger circuit and he is just 4-5 at the ATP level this year. Phau advanced to the Estoril second round on Tuesday with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory over qualifier Marc Lopez.

Phau has no weapons with which to hurt the 2008 Estoril champion, but Federer is going to raise his level considerably if he wants this to be a rout. Even at 30, Phau remains one of the fastest players on tour and he is extremely consistent from the back of the court.

The underdog should be able to win at least a few games in each set, but Federer will roll into the quarterfinals.