Nadal, Federer rain supreme beneath Ashe’s roof
A hard rain fell on Flushing Meadows Saturday night, and Roger Federer, moving fluidly, flowed into the fourth round and second week of the U.S. Open fortnight with a late-night win over Spain's Feliciano Lopez at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Federer, 36, needed 24 minutes to claim the opening set beneath a closed roof. He was up two sets in 59 minutes, and finished Lopez off, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in a total of less than two hours.
“It was clearly nice to go up two sets for a change,” Federer said. “Feels different from there.”
He is the greatest player of all time, and the third seed in the field at the tournament. He looked fit despite needing five sets to finish off each of his first two counterparts. He moved freely, stretching out fully in defense, and warding off body serves. Luck assisted, as well. One winner came on a net cord stroke in the second set. The packed crowd of 24,858 fans feted Federer. Lin Manuel Miranda, creator and star of the musical "Hamilton," sat among them. He wore a black "RF" hat.
“A little bit of a wobble in the third maybe,” Federer said, “But, you know, it’s all good. I’m really pleased with the performance. It’s exactly I guess maybe what I needed going into the next round.”
Time was an ally of Federer. Due matches that ran long earlier in the day, his match commenced 2 hours and 41 minutes after its scheduled 7 p.m. Top seed
Rafael Nadal preceded him on court, and the Spaniard spinster advanced, as well, leveling 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Federer proved to be opportunistic in shortening up his stroke on one forehand to drop a ball that Lopez failed to return. Federer continued to apply pressure with a steady second serve. He did not double fault until the first game of the third set, and won that, as well, in spite of the slipup.
There are 19 Grand Slams on Federer's resume. Two came this year — The Australian Open and Wimbledon — and he is training his attention on the U.S. Open, which he has not won since 2008, when he claimed his fifth straight Open title.
Federer remained afloat, whereas many of his top competitors on the ATP Tour have fallen off. Novak Djokovic (elbow) and Andy Murray (hip) never took the court as they convalesce from accrued ailments. Federer, coming off a back injury, hit balls in Central Park on one off day this week, and looked to be in good health as he rounded into form. He will be back on court on Labor Day square with Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, who also won in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4, Saturday.