Federer cruises into next round
Sixth seed Djokovic takes out American Sandgren in four sets
NEW YORK — Roger Federer says his favorite drinks are cold water and a sparkling glass of champagne. Both could be on tap at the U.S. Open: Federer needed a few swigs of water on another steamy day at the Open and he played like a former champion set to uncork a celebratory bottle of bubbly.
“I don’t like warm drinks, let’s put it that way,” Federer said, laughing.
Federer’s coolness on the court belied another day where players needed cooling towels as much as their rackets. Federer, a five-time U.S. Open champion, had steeled himself for the heat by changing up his routine — he made an early trip to New York to prep his game in the sweltering sun.
“I felt like it’s maybe one of these years where it could be hot,” Federer said Thursday. “I had the plan to go to Dubai first, where it’s extremely hot. I didn’t want to be away from the family. I changed plans and said, ‘Let's go early to America and prepare over here in the conditions that I’m actually going to see during the Open.’ ”
Federer was crisp in a 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 win over Benoit Paire in and made it 18-of-18 lifetime in the second round of the U.S. Open. Up next, Federer plays No. 30 seed Nick Kyrgios on Saturday.
“Not a bad performance by any means by me,” Federer said.
He may have skipped humility in the humidity but it was tough argue against the No. 2 seed. Federer, who was forced to clarify a joke about retirement, isn’t going away with a sixth title in sight.
Federer has eased up on his schedule, saying he no longer wanted to just “play, play, play.” But when he does, there are still few better on the hard court. And his plan to pass on Dubai — where temps this week hit 110 degrees — for the breezy 90s in New York could be a factor in how far he goes.
“If you train in the cold all the time, all of a sudden it hits you, the humidity and heat,” he said. “You’re just not ready. I don’t care how fit you are, what you're used to, the humidity can really get to you. I think that was a good choice.”
Novak Djokovic wasted a match point in the third set, before going on to win 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2 against Tennys Sandgren to reach the third round.
Djokovic had a much easier victory over Sandgren, an American ranked 61st, in Wimbledon's first round this year, dropping only six games in all.
The 13-time major champion seemed to be along the same path at Flushing Meadows on Thursday night, standing one point from victory while leading 5-4 in the third set as Sandgren served at 30-40. But Sandgren ended an 11stroke exchange with a forehand winner, then took the ensuing tiebreaker.
Djokovic regained the upper hand with an early break in the fourth and was on his way.
And No. 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki is out of the Open in the second round, joining No. 1 Simona Halep on the sideline. Wozniacki lost 6-4, 6-2 to 36th-ranked Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine.
In a matchup between two young, up-and-coming men in the top 50, 19-year-old Alex de Minaur beat 20-year-old Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-0, 5-7, 6-2 to reach the third round at a second Grand Slam in a row. Tiafoe, an American, is ranked 44th, one spot ahead of de Minaur, an Australian.