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Enlarge Photo Defending champion Roger Federer of Switzerland serves to Alejandro Falla of Colombia at the 2010... An unfamiliar sensation crept into Roger Federer's mind on Monday and lodged there for more than two hours -- not only that he might lose but that defeat might come in the first round of the event he treasures most.On the Centre Court where he has won six Wimbledon titles, Federer had to battle back from two sets down to beat 60th-ranked Colombian Alejandro Falla in his opening game of 2010.
Did it occur to him at any time that he might lose, the world number two was asked as soon as he sat down for his news conference after his narrow escape.
"Yeah," he admitted. "A few times.
"It was a tough match; he played really well and I struggled early on. There was a big threat; I did get lucky today."
Defeat on grass is not something Federer is familiar with, though he did make an exception by losing to Lleyton Hewitt in the Halle final eight days ago which was only his second loss on grass in seven years.
Long a crowd favourite at Wimbledon, Federer received a standing ovation from one side of Centre Court just for walking from the dressing room to his courtside chair on Monday, before the fans settled into uneasy silence as he went down two sets and 0-40 at 4-4 in the third.
"The points that led up to 0-40 were not very convincing for me," the Swiss admitted. "My whole game was in disarray."
A fourth-set tiebreak brought out the old Federer beloved by the crowd and spectators began chanting his name as he raced to a 7-1 win.
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"For me it is not normal to be down two sets to love, especially at Wimbledon, but still I was able to find a way," said a relieved Federer after clawing his way back to a 5-7 4-6 6-4 7-6 6-0 win.
"(Falla) played terrific and he made it hard for me."
Perhaps the Colombian had learnt from four previous straight-sets defeats by Federer, two of them within the last month, a reporter suggested.
"He should have known that I was going to beat him," Federer said with a smile. "He forgot I beat him."
Falla had certainly not forgotten the previous beatings and admitted to being taken aback when he saw that the Wimbledon draw had paired them up yet again.
"Everybody wants to play Federer, but three times in one month is a lot," the Colombian said.
Federer, who features in a series of adverts for razors, was just looking forward to putting Monday's rather-too-close shave behind him and concentrating on his next opponent, Serbian qualifier Ilija Bozoljac.
"The scores are set back to 0-0 when I start the next match and that's a good thing," he said.
(Editing by Miles Evans;
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