Federer puts on another clinic

NEW YORK – The most pivotal part of Roger Federer’s U.S. Open victory over Nick Kyrgios, both men agreed, came all of 17 minutes in, when the 20time major champion was serving at 3all, love-40 and got out of the jam.

The most spectacular part? That was, anyone who saw it surely would agree, the on-a-full-sprint, drop-shotretrieving, flick-from-a-few-inchesoff-the-ground, forehand-around-thenet-post, jaw-dropping winner that Federer conjured up close to the conclusion of the 6-4, 6-1, 7-5 tour de force in the third round Saturday.

“Almost unreal,” said Kyrgios, who admired the bit of racket wizardry with eyes wide open and mouth agape.

“A special one, no doubt about it,” declared Federer, who put it up there among his greatest hits, which, considering who we’re talking about, is certainly saying something.

Much was made of Kyrgios’ previous match, in which chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani climbed out of his seat to have a chat with the 23-year-old player about whether he was giving his best effort while trailing by a set and a break. Kyrgios went on to win; Lahyani was chastised by the U.S. Tennis Association for breaching “protocol” but allowed to continue officiating at the tournament.

This time, of course, Kyrgios received no sort of counsel during the match other than all the muttering, at various volumes, he directed at himself.

He doesn’t have a coach and wondered aloud, during the latest in a long line of news conferences that sound more like therapy sessions, whether he should add one — or perhaps someone who could help with the mental aspect of the game.

Federer alluded to one particularly questionable choice Kyrgios made at 5-all, 40-15 in the final set, when he went for a drop shot that found the net instead of simply hitting a normal forehand into the open court.

“Clearly,” F ederer said, “when you play that way and you lose, it’s always, like, you feel like he’s so much to blame. But that’s just how he plays.” Clearly.

The contrast between Kyrgios’ mindset and Federer’s was not lost on the talented, if temperamental, Australian.

“We’re two very different characters. Just the way he goes about things, I could take a leaf out of his book. The way he behaves on court. His demeanor,” the 30th-seeded Kyrgios said. “I don’t want to change myself too much, but I could definitely take away things he does in certain situations. He’s the ultimate role model to anyone who wants to play.”

The No. 2-seeded F ederer moved into the fourth round at F lushing Meadows for the 17th consecutive appearance. He’s won five titles at the U.S Open, although the last arrived a decade ago.

Next is what shapes up as a mismatch, facing 55th-ranked John Millman, who never before has made it this far at any Grand Slam tournament.

“He’s the best that’s played the game, in my opinion,” said Millman, who practiced with F ederer ahead of the grass-court portion of this season. “I’ve got a lot of respect for Roger.”

In earlier women’s action, there was a series of surprises, highlighted by Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber’s 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 loss to No. 29 Dominika Cibulkova.

Kerber, who counts the 2016 U.S. Open among her three Grand Slam trophies, was seeded No. 4 and joins No. 1 Simona Halep and No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki in making Week 1 exits — all in matches played on the new Louis Armstrong Stadium court.

No. 6 Caroline Garcia and No. 13 Kiki Bertens also lost, while 2017 runner-up Madison Keys came back to beat Aleksandra Krunic, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.