"100 percent ready to battle"
Dzumhur hung around enough to keep Federer honest but in the end the 20-times grand slam champion was good value for his win, a victory that sets up a third-round clash against either Lucas Pouille of France or Britain’s Dan Evans.
“I knew what Dzumhur was going to give me but I didn't expect to hit 15 to 20 unforced errors (in the first set), which is basically the entire set just sort of donated,” Federer said. “I clearly have to play better from the get-go.”
“The important thing is (are you) 100 percent ready to battle, are you in good shape, are you happy to be here? For me, also when it comes to slams, I prepare my game in a way that I peak here, and then you have to give yourself the best chances.
“At the end of the day all you can give is 100 percent and I have been doing that for many, many years now. If it falls into place, great. If it doesn't, well, you can always go back to the drawing board and figure out maybe what did you do wrong or was it just, you know, the kind of day that didn't go your way. That's it.”
One point away from winning a ninth Wimbledon title last month when he could not close out Novak Djokovic, Federer could play the world No 1 again in the semi-finals, just as he did in 2011 and 2012, when he also held two match points in each encounter.