Former world number one Roger Federer eased to a 7-5, 6-3 defeat of Canadian wild card Vasek Pospisil to move into the third round of the ATP Montreal Masters here on Wednesday and earn a rematch with his Wimbledon conqueror Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The 30-year-old Swiss, who is beginning his warm-up for the US Open later this month, showed little sign of rustiness as he was playing for the first time since late June when he lost in the Wimbledon quarter-finals to Tsonga.
"It was tough conditions, it was quick and he had good crowd support," said Federer.
"He had nothing to lose. It was a tricky match for me to play today."
Federer needed 49 minutes to get on top of Pospisl in the opening set, but moved up a gear in the second to canter to victory and into a rematch with 13th seeded Tsonga, who beat Australian wild card Bernard Tomic 6-3, 7-6 (7/1).
Federer, who only required a modest four aces and two breaks of serve against his 155th-ranked opponent, said he was looking forward to playing Tsonga again.
"It depends on the conditions, we might play at night or during the day. At Wimbledon it was really a matter of our serves and forehands.
"He (Tsonga) served very well, and I was serving well, too. It was a matter of a couple of points."
Tsonga is taking nothing for granted as he meets his rival for the second time in six weeks.
"He's still the best player ever for me and it's still tough to play against him," said Tsonga.
"The wins I had in the past - he won a Montreal quarter-final two years ago against Federer - they will help me, of course.
"But I've lost against him (four) times," added the 26-year-old.
Federer, who is bidding for a third Canadian title after winning in 2004 and 2006, was joined by compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round, after the 26-year-old defeated American Michael Russell 6-3, 6-2 in just over an hour.
Seventh seed Tomas Berdych advanced as the Czech staged a comeback over Alexandr Dolgopolov 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 while number eight Nicolas Almagro out out Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-2, 7-6 (7/5).
Top seed and world number one Novak Djokovic was set to make his delayed start at the event he won in 2007 after his second-round match with veteran Russian Nikolay Davydenko was called off on Tuesday due to the weather.
Second seed Rafael Nadal was also due to begin his campaign with a second round clash with Croatian Ivan Dodig.
Source: AFP
