ROGER SUR-FIVES!
Pushed to the limit again, Fed rallies past Youzhny
The sport’s greatest player waited, waited, waited while Mikhail Youzhny’s sky-high return finally landed on Arthur Ashe Stadium court. Roger Federer, dressed in scarlet and white, then did a vertical leap, wound up and deftly smashed his return fair, sealing his fiveset victory over the Russian Thursday afternoon, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
“It wasn’t always like this back then,” a smiling Federer said after the match, referring to his earlier playing days when he routinely dispatched opponents in straight sets. “These five-set battles are quite a lot of fun. I feel warmed up now.”
For the first time in Federer’s illustrious career — which includes 19 Grand Slam singles titles — he has started a major with consecutive five-set matches. Tuesday night, it was American teenager Frances Tiafoe who battled the 36-yearold Federer to five sets, before the Swiss legend emerged victorious just before midnight. Thursday afternoon, with the Ashe Stadium roof open, it was Youzhny’s turn to stretch Federer to the limit.
After breezing through the first set, Federer was up 5-4 in the second set and on serve in the 10th game, but Youzhny broke Federer when the five-time Open champ whacked a return into the stands. In the tiebreaker, Federer hit a backhand into the net on set point. Federer fought gamely in the third set, but with Youzhny up 5-4 and serving in the tenth game, he watched Federer’s return go long on set point.
“That’s where my biggest regrets are for today. I didn’t get the two-sets-to-love lead,” said Federer. “At two-sets-to-love, I’ll win in three or four, that’s my opinion. He doesn’t have a big enough serve to consistently put me under pressure at that stage. I would be able to play more freely.”
Federer said he worried about his back in his first-round match against Tiafoe, after he experienced back pain at the Montreal Masters prior to the Open. But Thursday, Federer said physically he was fine, and that he never fretted when he was down two sets to one.
“Just the unknown of the back in the first round, pressure of being back on Ashe, the rust was clearly there. Then not quite knowing can I pick up my game,” said Federer, who had 68 unforced errors in the match. “(Thursday) I felt like I was going to. In some way, I knew I was going to play better than I did in that third set or fourth set. I knew I was going to be able to pick it up. I didn’t disappoint myself, whereas in the first round I was just not quite sure.”
The 35-year-old Youzhny, meanwhile, said after the match that he was experiencing leg cramps as early as the third set. In the third game of the decisive fifth set, and with Federer serving and up 150, Youzhny chased a Federer lob that went over his head, but when he leaped to try and hit a return, Youzhny landed awkwardly, collapsed to the ground and grabbed his right leg immediately. He grimaced, but rose and finished the game, which he lost.
According to Grand Slam rules, a player may not receive a medical time-out for muscle cramping, and a player can only receive treatment for muscle cramps during a change of ends and/or set breaks. Youzhny joked afterward that if any cramping led to a life-threatening situation, and he still was not able to get treatment because of the rules, “You then say ‘bye-bye.’”
Federer finally broke Youzhny in the fifth set in the sixth game, then held serve, and then broke the Russian in the eighth and final game, punctuating the match with the smash. Federer is now lifetime 17-0 in matches against Youzhny. Next up for the No. 3 seeded Federer is Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the third round.
CENTRAL PARK CAMEO: Federer was asked after Thursday’s win about his impromptu practice session in Central Park Wednesday, where the tennis legend made a surprise appearance on the courts just north of the reservoir. “I really liked the idea of playing in Central Park for the first time. We tried it out. It was perfect. I was really happy. It was really a totally different experience in the sense that when I finished practice, that was fun. If only all practices were like this. I really enjoyed myself,” said Federer. “Just to be in that environment for a change. I’ve seen the routine of normal practice sessions and matches, press, all the things we do in a row, it’s always the same. I think this was very refreshing. I hope I can do these things a bit more often.”