Another first for Federer

Neither player was able to capitalize on early break chances before Federer eventually won the first set tiebreak.

Roger Federer survived an opening-match fright by outlasting Canada’s Vasek Pospisil 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-2 on Wednesday to claim his 300th Masters Series win and reach the third round of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Women’s World No.1 Serena Williams won a tense battle of US Open champions by beating Australia’s Samantha Stosur 7-6(7) 7-6(7)to reach the third round.

Third-ranked Federer, back in action after losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto on Sunday, appeared sluggish at times as he struggled to tame the 46th-ranked Canadian.

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With the victory, the second seeded Swiss, a five-time champion on the Cincinnati hard courts, becomes the first player to reach 300 wins in the ATP Tour’s elite Masters 1000 events.

Neither player was able to capitalize on early break chances before Federer eventually won the first set tiebreak on a forehand error by the Canadian.

Pospisil, Wimbledon doubles champion with American Jack Sock, battled back to take the second set but a focused Federer wasted no time taking charge in the third with an early break putting him on the way to clinching the milestone win.

The day featured a pair of early upsets with Taiwan’s Lu Yen-Hsun shocking fourth seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 3-6 6-3 6-4 while Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz knocked off Bulgarian seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 3-6 6-3.