Federer to third round, but he’s not himself

NEW YORK – With so many 30-somethings on the ATP Tour turning back time and playing some of their best tennis late in their careers, it was a bit of a shock to see two of them act their age Thursday.

Roger Federer, 36 and Mikhail Youzhny, 35, looked like rickety imitations of their young selves for much of Federer’s 6-1, 6-7 (3), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win.

At one point, when he had Federer down two sets to one, one of the Swiss star’s most dependable tomato-can opponent might have been thinking this: “NOBODY beats Mikhail Youzhny 17 times in a row!“

(Click on the link if you’re too young to get the reference).

Youzhny was fighting against this: an 0-16 career record against his first-gen colleague. By the end, he also was fighting cramps.

Federer, apparently, was fighting himself.

But at the beginning, the picture of Dorian Youzhny was nestled security in the rafters of Arthur Ashe Stadium. Meanwhile, Federer’s magic fountain of youth was running dry. In the end, Youzhny’s body let him down, while Federer remembered who he was, and who Youzhny was to him.

Had he lost, it would have gone down as arguably Federer’s biggest stinker of all time at a Slam. Somehow, with help from his ailing opponent, he pulled out a second consecutive five-set win at this US Open and is into the third round.

Federer smiles, entourage grim

The man himself seemed quite pleased when it was over. Big smile on his face. “These five-set battles are quite a lot of fun, and I quite warmed up by now,” he joked during his on-court interview.

But the true picture, perhaps, could be found in his players’ box.

The Federer guests, the ones who probably don’t know his game as intimately, were simply thrilled he won. But look at the front row – and Lynette Federer. They know.

“I’m better than the first round, so I’m happy. Yeah, 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,” Federer said. “I think because you’re on a high, you’re thrilled that you got through, so you don’t look at the negative. Or I don’t. Yes, I might feel more tired than I normally would going into a third round, but that’s okay.
“My preparation hasn’t been good at all here. I knew I was going to maybe struggle early on. Maybe I struggled more than I would have liked to. But I’m still in the draw, which gives me a chance. I still believe I’m going to pick up my game and become just more consistent because I’m not playing all that bad. It’s just that I’m going a bit up and down in waves throughout the match,” he added. “So clearly I’m happy how I felt after the first round, because that was the scary bit. But that’s passed now. Now I can just look forward to play tennis. With a bit of fatigue, that’s okay. I’ve done that hundreds of times. That’s not something I’m too concerned about.”

Federer’s shot selection was dodgy at times. Twice, on break points, he serve-volleyed on second serves, and lost the points.

He had 68 unforced errors. In two matches – 10 sets – he has 124.

10 sets in 2 matches

Even though it went the distance, just as Federer’s first round against young American Frances Tiafoe did, it didn’t feel the same.

“Just the unknown of the (sore) back in the first round, pressure of being back on Ashe, the rust was clearly there, then not quite knowing (if I can) pick up my game,” Federer said. “Today 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. And I knew I was going to be able to pick it up. So I didn’t disappoint myself, whereas in the first round I was just not quite sure.”

In the third round, Federer will face another familiar foe in Feliciano Lopez, the No. 31 seed.

That’s a 12-0 whitewash. Lopez hasn’t even taken a set off him since 2011.

Can anybody beat Feliciano Lopez 13 times in a row?