Men's first-round result

R FEDERER (Swi) v D HARTFIELD (Arg)

6-0 6-3 6-0

606: DEBATE Your thoughts on the action

To get involved use 606 or text us your views & comments on 81111. (Not all contributions can be used)

By Caroline Cheese

1142: We have learnt two things today. 1) It is going to take a terrible performance from Federer or a lights-out display from someone else to stop the King making it Slam number 13. 2) Flugelhorns are from Germany or Belgium. Excellent. See you tomorrow for Sharapova v Davenport...

Federer 6-0 6-3 6-0 Hartfield
Fed just about squeaks into the second round where he'll meet wily Frenchman Fabrice Santoro - a match you will not want to miss. I began this match by asking what sort of form Federer might be in after an illness lay-off - he basically just laughed in my face with that performance.

"It's actually "Alphorn". From a Swiss who's very happy the BBC are commenting so extensively on Roger's match."
WatashihaTotoro on 606

"Fed is there to play beautiful tennis - not be Ant and Dec. Same went for Sampras. Appreciate a legend in front of you - we'll miss him when he's gone."
Joe, Manchester, via text on 81111

Federer 6-0 6-3 5-0 Hartfield
Poor old Diego's like a puppet on a string out there and Fed's wrong-footing forehand brings up what John Lloyd describes as a "virtual match point". Personally, I think we passed the virtual match point a long time ago.

Federer 6-0 6-3 4-0 Hartfield
I'll say it again. I don't know how you can mention Federer and boring in the same sentence. I'm sorry for ranting. Rog feathers a volley over the net to make it 40-0 and he's two games away now.

"Flugelhorns are thought to be from Germany or Belgium. Dan (see below) must mean alpenhorn."
Frank in Essex, via text on 81111

Federer 6-0 6-3 3-0 Hartfield
Fed's toying with his opponent now, making sure all his myriad of shots are in working order for the rest of the tournament. He pulls off a delicious angled, sliced backhand to start the game and Hartfield goes wide with a backhand to end it.

Federer 6-0 6-3 2-0 Hartfield
Hmmm... is it too early to start thinking about an early lunch?

Federer 6-0 6-3 1-0 Hartfield
Well, if you had your hopes pinned on a Hartfield comeback, he's not made the best start. Nothing he can do about Fed in this sort of mood. He has three break points but only needs the one, curling a beautiful forehand onto the line.

Second set

Federer 6-0 6-3 Hartfield
Federer is briefly held up at 40-0 as Hartfield challenges a call on an ace out wide. The Argentine's right but typical Fed, he goes back to the baseline and puts an ace down the middle instead. Both players smiling at that.

Federer 6-0 5-3 Hartfield
OK, so Federer's good but he's not leading 45-2 in this set. Apologies for that little oversight on my part. Indeed he's in a match now because Hartfield puts away an overhead and goes on to hold.

"Well said Cheese, how can watching legends being made be boring? The man is the best thing to come out of Switzerland since the Flugelhorn."
Dan in Monaco via text on 81111

Federer 6-0 5-2 Hartfield
Oof, an ugly forehand from Federer barely makes it to the net and that's break point for Hartfield. Fed's absolutely seething about that. No worries, he fires down an ace and the opportunity's gone for Diego.

"Greatest player ever? Possibly yes. Rewriting history? Undoubtedly. But I agree about the boring part... mainly due to Roger having the personality of a wet mop! Friends with Tiger Woods... a publicity stunt if ever I saw one."
Steph (who does love watching Fed to be fair) via text on 81111

Federer 6-0 4-2 Hartfield
Hartfield hammers an ace down the 'T' to move to 40-15 but that's not enough when Federer's around. The world number one brings out the squash-shot to get Hartfield off balance and a forehand winner makes it deuce. The plucky Argentine does come through eventually though.

"I think Hartfield has come out with a good attitude but he's just been knocked back with everything he's tried. He still looks like he's enjoying it. Sort of."
BBC Sport analyst John Lloyd

Federer 6-0 4-1 Hartfield
Relief for Federer as he gets back on track after losing that solitary game.

Federer 6-0 3-1 Hartfield
Just the 38 minutes in and Hartfield's on the board at last. Federer helps him out a bit with a few errors. You can imagine the reaction of the crowd. Hartfield will struggle to get a bigger ovation if he goes on to win this match.

"I'm not bored at all, it's only the first round! Djokovic is the real threat here. Oh, I won a fair bit on Tsonga, thank goodness he played a Brit, his odds were delicious!"
Drunkcaveman on 606

Federer 6-0 3-0 Hartfield
No doubt about the result then. Federer is stamping his authority all over this tournament with this performance.

Federer 6-0 2-0 Hartfield
To the person who texted in below. You're watching one of the greatest players the world has ever seen, arguably the current best sportsman on the planet. He's rewriting history. This is boring how? Hartfield has a rare game point but an ambitious backhand proves his downfall.

"This is all going to be over within 40 minutes! Am I the only one bored of Federer winning everything but the French?"
Anon via text on 81111

Federer 6-0 1-0 Hartfield
The crowd are on their feet - and it's not for Federer. The world number one looks to have won the point as he powers down an overhead but Hartfield somehow scrambles it crosscourt. A tiny opening for the Argentine at 30-30 but Fed's not in the mood for presents.

1048: Tim Henman has been on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra talking about Andy Murray's defeat. "Andy has had an extremely minor hiccup in losing a match like that. But the biggest thing is he learns from it. He's done fantastically well to be nine in the world and have the results that he has. The exciting thing is he is going to learn even more."

First set

Federer 6-0 Hartfield
Anyone fancy a bagel? Federer nonchalantly flicks a forehand return winner onto the line, leaving Hartfield looking a broken man already. That took 24 minutes.

Federer 5-0 Hartfield
Was I alone in thinking Federer might be a bit scratchy in his first competitive match since the Masters Cup? Was I? Well, he's not. Hold to love.

Federer 4-0 Hartfield
Hartfield is showing some nice touches but Federer can just step it when he likes. That scoreline does not really reflect the match.

Federer 3-0 Hartfield
Twice in a row, Hartfield arrows a pass down the line as he recovers from 40-0 down to force deuce. Federer shuts the door though.

Federer 2-0 Hartfield
A huge debate has broken out at BBC Sport towers. My colleague thinks black socks (such as those Fed is wearing) are "completely unacceptable in a sporting arena". He adds: "It's like wearing white socks with a suit." I think I agree. Anyway, Hartfield thinks he's on a clay court as he tries a dinky drop shot but Fed's onto it in a flash and earns two break points. Diego goes wide with a forehand.

Federer 1-0 Hartfield
Squeak, squeak, squeak, vvvvvvoooom. That's the familiar sound of Federer dancing around the ball before unleashing a forehand down the line. But two backhand errors and then another off the forehand leave Hartfield with a break point. Federer out of trouble though.

1022: Away we go then. Rog to serve.

1019: "Wow. Back in black. The King has arrived in his favourite outfit (and mine) all black beautiful."
thelovelykingfederer on 606

1018: Roger Federer is so super-duper cool he hasn't even bothered to check the Hawkeye challenge rules before coming out on court. Just as well cheery umpire Norm Chryst is on top of things then.

1017: I missed what Roger said because I was mesmerised by his pinstripe tracksuit top. Sorry.

1015: "It's a tough draw," says our Australian interviewer Todd Woodbridge to Diego Hartfield. "For sure, it's going to be tough. It's tough to play a big champion like him," agrees Diego. "But I'm always thinking I can win the match."