It was more of an evisceration than a match. But, my, what an evisceration. In 86 minutes of surgical brilliance, Roger Federer gutted and numbed Roberto Bautista Agut until he had nothing left but his spirit. That helped the 20th seeded Spaniard save five match points, but the jagged edge to the match came swiftly enough as Federer won through 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
Forehand, backhand, serve, volley: all were scalpels in the Federer’s hands. He won 92% of his first serve points. He hit 38 winners with just 12 unforced errors. And when he came to the net, as he did regularly, he won 30 of 40 points at the net.