There are not many players who’d be comfortable seeing seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer on the other side of the net but Alejandro Falla claims he would not be too fazed should the situation arise.
The Colombian, who advanced to the second round of Qualifying with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 victory over Japan’s Taro Daniel on Monday, still holds fond memories of that infamous Centre Court encounter in 2010 in which he took the first two sets and served for the match against the then defending champion Federer.
Although Falla ultimately succumbed, the 31-year-old today revealed that people still talk to him about that contest.
“Even though I lost that match I still get good comments,” he told Wimbledon.com.
“People still remember that match. They are great memories. I played Centre Court, it was crowded. I played him in 2004 on No.1 Court but he beat me very easily, [and again] in the 2012 Olympics, I played a three-set match. Against him I play good matches.”
On Monday, Falla’s opponent took the form of 22-year-old Daniel, who at 125 sits five spots above him in the world rankings.
Nonetheless it was the 31-year-old who emerged the quickest out of the starting blocks when the players finally took to the court three hours behind schedule on a day beset by intermittent drizzle.
Employing an aggressive baseline game, the veteran left-hander secured an early break and rattled through the first set for the loss of only two games.
“I was confident of my game here on the grass,” Falla said. “He was struggling a little bit on the surface."
The pendulum swung in favour of New York-born Daniel in the second when an early break boosted his confidence and he began to hit the ball freely, finding the pace and consistency that until now had eluded him.
It was to be short-lived. Falla broke Daniel at the first opportunity in the final set and went on to wrap up the match in 1 hour, 36 minutes.
“The match was really tight,” Falla added. “In the third set I got aggressive again. I think I was moving well, returning well.
"Tricky conditions so it’s not easy when you want to be aggressive and the ball is moving around. Overall I think I played pretty well, there are a couple of things to improve maybe first serve percentage. I’m really happy to be in the second round.”
