Roger Federer narrowly escaped out of the first round at the US Open and will now look to put some questions to bed when he faces another veteran in Mikhail Youzhny. Join The Roar for live scores from around 4:30am (AEST).
While Federer was expected to blast his way out of the first round against youngster Frances Tiafoe, it ended being anything but a walk in the park.
Federer, who is shooting for his 20th grand slam title at Flushing Meadows, had his moments but on the whole was inconsistent. After a run in dominated by talk of whether he was injured or not, he did absolutely nothing to silence the doubters.
He dropped the first set, then bounced back to play some good quality tennis and win the next two 6-2, 6-1. Just when it looked like Federer was going to run away with it, he got done in the fourth set 6-1, and struggled to close it out from a break ahead in the fifth, eventually taking it 6-4.
It was anything but convincing. He struggled on serve at different points in the match and seemed to drift in and out of the contest, a possible sign that age is beginning to catch up with the Fed.
In terms of experience, he won’t get much more than Mikhail Youzhny either, who he has been drawn to play in the second round. The world No.101, who picked up one of the final spots in the main draw without having to qualify was in solid form during the lead-up to the US Open, but not world beating as he managed to qualify in both Montreal and Cincinnati.
He was drawn against Blaz Kavcic in the first round of the US Open, eventually going past in four sets. It wasn’t by any means a great performance, but he did what he had to do after being tied at one set all.
If he plays at a similar level against Federer, he will need plenty of mistakes from the other end – something Federer doesn’t often do for two matches in a row.
Federer has an incredible record against Youzhny, leading the ledger 17-0. On top of that, in four grand slam meetings, he has only dropped a single set.
Prediction
Federer shouldn’t lose this match, but it’s impossible to get a read on where his form really is. He needs to make a statement, regardless of what unfolds.
Federer in straight sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of the match from around 4:30am (AEST) or at the completion of Karolina Pliskova versus Nicole Gibbs on the Arthur Ashe Stadium and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
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