PARIS - On the occasion of his record-tying 233rd victory in a Grand Slam match, Roger Federer was asked Monday whether he recalls which player he beat for his first win at a major tournament.
"Well, I should, shouldn't I? Um, let me see," Federer said, then hesitated and rubbed his eyes before conceding: "OK. I can't remember."
A reporter reminded him it was Michael Chang at the 2000 Australian Open.
French Open (May 27-June 10)
Rain or shine, clay or mud, Sunday or Monday, Rafael Nadal rules Roland Garros. The man they call "Rafa" won his record seventh French Open title on Monday, returning a day after getting rained out to put the finishing touches on a 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 victory over Novak Djokovic, and deny Djokovic in his own quest for history — the "Novak Slam." Full story
"Was it? Well, that was a beautiful victory, then," the 16-time major champion replied with a grin.
Federer equaled Jimmy Connors' Open era mark and improved to 233-35 at tennis' top four tournaments by beating Tobias Kamke of Germany 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 in the first round of the French Open.
"You step back, you realize you have been playing for quite a long time. ... When I started, I loved playing against those famous players I used to see on TV. Now I'm playing against younger players, a new generation," he said. "It's great I didn't suffer that many injuries over these years. And I always had fun playing tennis."
Connors won eight Grand Slam titles while going 233-49 from 1970-92, an .826 winning percentage bettered by Federer's .869.
"Jimmy Connors was a huge champion. Still is," Federer said.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who is trying to win his fourth straight Grand Slam title, never faced a break point in beating Potito Starace of Italy 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-1.
"It's just the first match here," Djokovic said in French on court after the match. "It's still a very long way to go before we talk about the final."
Federer improved to 50-12 at Roland Garros, where his 2009 championship completed a career Grand Slam. Now Federer is the only man with at least 50 Open era match wins each at all four.
And here's one more stat: Federer is playing in his 50th consecutive major tournament, the longest active streak and third-longest in the Open era, which began in 1968, when professionals were allowed into the Grand Slam events.
"Look, I obviously love the big tournaments," he said. "I have been so successful for such a long time, and to already tie that record (at) 30 years old is pretty incredible, so I'm very happy."
His 30th birthday was Aug. 8, and Federer is trying to become the oldest man to win a Grand Slam tournament since Andre Agassi was 32 at the 2003 Australian Open. Federer has gone more than two years without a major title - his longest drought since winning his first at Wimbledon in 2003.
On Monday, Federer was not quite perfect against the 78th-ranked Kamke, who fell to 6-10 at Grand Slams and has never advanced past the third round at any.
There were hiccups, particularly with the Swiss star's serving. He was broken once in each set, including while trying to serve for the match at 5-2 in the third. He also piled up 47 unforced errors, 16 more than Kamke.
"They're never easy, those first rounds, you know. Last thing you want is to go down a set or getting in a tough situation, but I was able to stay ahead in the first set. Had bits of ups and downs on my serve," Federer said. "But overall, I'm happy I'm through. That's what I look at in the end."
And now no one in the Open era has managed to get through at Grand Slams more often than Federer.
The 15th-seeded player on the men's side, Feliciano Lopez, retired from his match with a side muscle injury after losing the first five games of the first set to Florent Serra.
Former top-ranked player Lleyton Hewitt also lost, falling to Blaz Kavcic of Slovenia 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-3, while No. 7 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, No. 10 John Isner of the United States and No. 11 Gilles Simon of France made it through.
The strangest finish of the day occurred when Alex Bogomolov Jr. retired from his match when he was one point from losing.
The Russian was trailing Arnaud Clement of France 6-2, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 5-4 when he quit the match on match point while serving.
"My whole leg was straight. I couldn't bend it. I couldn't walk," said Bogomolov, who said his leg was cramping. "I didn't want to risk a potential ligament damage or something."
Watching Rafa Nadal churn his way through the claycourt season over the past few weeks, it seems nothing much has changed since his French Open triumph a year ago despite a lengthy injury layoff.
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