Federer bounces back for second straight 5-set win

NEW YORK — Given that Roger Federer entered Thursday with a 16-0 career record against his opponent, Mikhail Youzhny, and a 16-0 mark in the U.S. Open’s second round, one might have thought that their meeting at that stage in Flushing Meadows would have been no contest at all. Think again. Federer set aside an uncharacteristic 68 unforced errors and what appeared to be a bad back, managing to pull out his second five-set victory in a row at the U.S. Open tennis tournament by coming back to edge Youzhny, 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.

It is the first time in his long career Federer, 36, has played five-setters in both the first and second rounds at a Grand Slam tournament. “These five-set battles are actually quite a lot of fun,” Federer said in his on-court interview, “and I feel quite warmed up by now.”

The No. 3-seeded Federer won five consecutive U.S. Open championships from 2004-08 and also was the runner-up twice, including two years ago. But he missed last year’s tournament while taking off the second half of the season to let his back and surgically repaired left knee fully heal.

That time off paid obvious dividends: He is 37-3 with five titles in 2017, including his 18th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, then 19th at Wimbledon in July. Federer did not lose any of the sets he played in seven matches at the All England Club.

Things have been rather different so far in New York.

Youzhny is a former top-10 player who reached the U.S. Open semifinals in 2006 and ’10, but he is now ranked 101st.