Somdev Devvarman discovered one of tennis’s most brutal truths on Wednesday that after 17 grand slam titles there is little room for mercy in Roger Federer’s relentless pursuit of success.
The Swiss inflicted a bruising 6-2 6-1 6-1 French Open defeat on his Indian opponent in a second round tie that lasted a little over an hour and was so one-sided that it did nothing to firm up the 2009 champion’s title credentials.
Yet for 188th-ranked Devvarman, it was a painful lesson in what separates the very best from those who ply their trade on the other side of the tennis tracks.
“I felt like I was playing wheelchair tennis and he was just playing on a PlayStation,” he said, showing as much sensitivity to political correctness as his groundstrokes had bite.
Not that Devvarman, who had never been past the second round of a grand slam and came through the exhausting qualifying competition, was expecting any favours.
“It is a grand slam and you just don’t expect a guy to take their foot off the pedal. He was probably a little worried about the rain or the light and didn’t want to spend too much time on court.”
