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Roger Federer (zimbio.com)
Sometimes it doesn’t matter how you win as long as you win. This was the case for Roger Federer as he struggled past Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-7(3), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, in the second round of the US Open.
The 19-time grand slam champion headed into the match with high expectations after a lacklustre start to his New York campaign. Two days earlier, he was pushed to five sets by rising star Frances Tiafoe, exposing vulnerabilities in his current form. Leading into the final major of the year, he pulled out of Cincinnati due to a back issue.
It was expected that Federer would hit back at critics with a solid display over Youzhny. A player who he had previously defeated 16 times and had only ever dropped four sets against. Instead, he left himself facing more scrutiny after a roller coaster performance featuring 59 unforced errors as well as 59 winners.
“I’m better than the first round, so I’m happy.” An upbeat Federer said during his press conference. “This match wasn’t about the back, which is good. This is more just a grind. I felt different, completely different, the way it played and everything. But I’m really, really happy I got through”
“These five-set battles are actually quite a lot of fun. I feel quite warm up by now.” He also added.
In the first 20 minutes he raced to a 5-0 lead without breaking a sweat against a former top 10 player. Youzhny struggled to settle down, producing 13 unforced errors throughout the opening set. The Russian did manage to get onto the scoreboard, but it did little to deter Federer from sealing the 6-1 lead.
Everything appeared to be going well for Federer heading into the second set, but his inconsistency from earlier in the week returned to haunt him. A sluggish start allowed Youzhny to break for a 2-0 lead before the second seed restored order by pushing ahead to 5-3. Ability was not the problem for Federer, it was the error count. A backhand into the net combined with a forehand shank allowed his Russian rival to break back and later take proceedings into a tiebreaker.
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It was only appropriate that Federer should be punished for his patchy display. Youzhny illustrated shots reminiscent of the time he was world No.8. Hitting the ball deep and firing some some stunning forehand winners. The surge enabled him to grab the tiebreaker and only his fifth set against Federer in his entire career.
The turn of the tides cast a cloud of silence over the Arthur Ashe stadium with fans trying to comprehend what was going on. Federer’s stellar start to the match turned into disarray with Youzhny carefully edging his way through. The third set saw the world No.101 win 33 points, but 17 of those were due to a Federer error. The army of loyal fans kept cheering their Swiss leader on, but it wasn’t for him to win. It was for him to draw level. Something that he failed to do in the third set.
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Six games away from suffering his worst-ever performance at Flushing Meadows, Federer spurred himself on with outbursts of ‘Chum Jetzt.’ The swiss-german version of the phrase ‘come on.’ He then managed to bring himself back into contention when a Youzhny backhand slammed into the net, prompting a euphoric roar in the audience and gifting Federer the break. Still he failed to maintain the lead, dropping serve again before forcing a decider with the help of a backhand error from his Russian rival on set point.
Youzhny’s investment in the match took its toll on his body as he cramped towards the final stages of the match. Dramatically falling on the court after one point. It was a gigantic effort that concluded in an anticlimactic way. A double fault on break point that elevated Federer to a 4-2 lead, two games from victory. His 80th US Open win was then secured with a smash at the net. Prompting Federer to raise his arms in celebration.
“It’s hard to watch, but unfortunately that’s how it is.” Federer commented on Youzhny’s cramps. “I was feeling it for Mikhail. We go back to the 98 juniors here, where we played the doubles against each other. It’s nice to see we’re still playing. We played a bunch of times and this was probably our best match.”
Two tough matches, one happy Federer
Despite the roller coaster journey into the third round at Flushing Meadows, Federer is unfazed by it all. Reflecting on his lead up to the tournament, the 36-year-old stated that he will improve as the tournament progresses.
“I see things very positive right now because the preparation hasn’t been its best.” He explained. “A big compromise, I might struggle early on. Still hope to get through the early rounds somehow, preferably in three sets, maybe four, maybe five.”
” I’m pretty confident that I’m only going to get better from here. That’s a good thing.
Starting a grand slam with back-to-back five-set matches for the first time in his career, Federer will next play 31st seed Feliciano Lopez. A player he has a 12-0 head-to-head record against. Lopez defeated compatriot Fernando Verdasco in four sets.