Well, you don't really expect Canadians cheering for Fed - regardless of how good he is - when they have a fellow countryman on the court, do you?
Especially given the fact that he gave Fed a run for his money, to say the least :)

this was a good match. hardly a 'battle' though as has been reported by some journos. fed was in cruise control and never really shows his best until towards the end of the tournys. am just glad he is through. no different to novak's performance, with another wildcard entry, or the 'battle' that davydenko had in the two tie breakers, or verdasco against lopez, or gonzales dropping a set...these are the early, dangerous rounds, where anything could happen and i think we just have to give our players a bit more credit.

It was great to see Roger back .He was his adorable self and it was great to see the two of them leave together chatting and smiling.
The game..well it was rusty and his ROS has really declined ( I know ,it was his first match in five weeks but still). A good match overall.
I must say Roger's outfit is absolutely fantastic.The colour looks brilliant .One of the best outfits ever ( though almost all of the outfits he plays with are always good).Loved the shoes too.

hi janhavi....roger is always a little rusty at the start of a tournament, dont you think?here's a short extract from greg bishop - quite funny about the 2 fans and the cows!

After his match, Federer joked about how he and Niemeyer played in a Swiss satellite tournament some 11 yearsm ago, in front of two fans ? and two cows, according to Niemeyer ?- with snow blanketing the ground outside.

?The next thing you know, here we are, playing in front of a packed house here in Montreal,? Federer said.

Federer controlled Niemeyer for the most part, allowing only a single, unproductive break point, and mixing the occasional attack with typically punishing ground strokes. He was not at a Wimbledon-type level -? not in rhythm, Federer said, particularly on returns -? but then, no one expected him to be.

Niemeyer kept it close with an strong serve that appeared to keep Federer off-balance. The serves pushed Federer into a tie-break, where he won an important point to take a 4-3 advantage.

From there, his body language changed, noticeable by the added intensity in his movements. On set point, Niemeyer pulled Federer wide right with a forehand. Federer scrambled and shot back an even wider return. Niemeyer paused for a split second and dropped his next shot into the net.

this was the second bit janhavi.....

Federer finds winning touch
(UKPA) ? 1 hour ago

World number one Roger Federer made comfortable progress into the third round of the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Tuesday.

The Swiss, who became a father to twin daughters last month having won his 15th grand slam title at Wimbledon, was making his first appearance since that victory at the All England Club after receiving a first-round bye in Canada.

Federer needed a tie-break in the first set against Canadian opponent Frederic Niemeyer but came through 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 as he began his preparations in earnest for the defence of his US Open title.

Federer fired down 16 aces against his 33-year-old opponent, who is ranked 487 in the world.

He will now face either compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka or Andrey Golubev in the third round.

Federer played horrible last night. He couldn't return any service at all. And that's a problem that he's been carrying from Roland Garros and was more evident in Wimbledon (despite being quiet well in other areas).

He needs to fix this issue in order to win any of this Masters or the USO since there's much more competition out there in hardcourt surfaces.

Perhaps Fed was cruising a bit as one would suspect, but what a great memory for Niemeyer to take into retirement with him: Playing a guy whom many consider to be the GOAT in front of the hometown fans -- and holding your own with him for more than an hour. Might as well hang 'em up right there.

emiliano, federer didn't even make it past the first round last year and i really didnt expect him to go out all guns blazing yesterday. i am just glad he is through and i am sure that he will learn from the match yesterday. he will have to in order to go deeper, but then its kinda the norm for him to play a bit weird at the start, then when he puts his foot on the gas, THAT'S when fed comes into his own. All of 'em yesterday (novak), he struggled, double faults left, right and centre (unlike him), murray didn't have rhythm at the start of his match (said so in interview), davydenko was rusty and taken to a two set tie breaker but came through, gonzales dropped a set, verdasco was all over the place, losing a set to lopez - these are world class athletes finding their pace in the first match they have played since wimby. roddick is the guy who is smiling right now, along with delpo as they played in washington so washed the rust away!