WHAT HAPPENED: For the second time in three days, Roger Federer kept his hopes of winning a sixth US Open title alive by the smallest of margins, with another five-set epic inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 19-time Grand Slam champ toppled Mikhail Youzhny, 6-1, 6-7, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, to advance to the third round less than 48 hours after going the distance in his opening match against American Frances Tiafoe.
This was the 17th meeting in 17 years between Federer and Youzhny, who first played each other at an indoor hard-court event in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2000. The victory maintains Federer’s perfect record against the Russian.
It is the first time Federer has played multiple five-set matches in the same year at the US Open, let alone back-to-back. After a so-so opening match high in entertainment and emotion but average in terms of quality on Day 2 and another far-from-convincing win Thursday, the question will be whether Federer has enough in the tank to advance deep in the second week.
On Day 4, Federer raced through the first set in 26 minutes, displaying the kind of shot-making like the back-foot half-volley off the baseline that only he can make look so easy.
There were no early signs that Youzhny had any chance at overturning the one-sided head-to-head matchup, especially when he let an early lead slip. But a sloppy service game from Federer gave Youzhny a 2-0 lead in the second set, but the Swiss was broken while serving for the set when he shanked a forehand into the suites behind concourse at the back of the courtside seats.
In the ensuing tiebreak, Youzhny clipped the baseline twice in first three points, then established a 6-3 cushion behind a trio of one-handed backhands, two of which went for clean winners. While both players had more errors than winners, Federer’s 20 stood out the most in stark contrast to the effortless way he glided through the opening set.
The Youzhny backhand paid dividends again in the fifth game of the third set, when he ripped a winner down the line to earn the first break. And while Federer saved two Youzhny set points on his serve, the Russian held to love in the very next game to take an unlikely 2-1 set lead.
The world No. 3 broke to take a 3-1 lead early in the fourth set. But just like the second set, he was unable to serve it out, Youzhny ripping a cross-court backhand on a second serve. Youzhny saved Federer’s first set point with a thunderous forehand into the empty court, but a rare backhand miscue sent the match to a decider.
Youzhny appeared to start cramping as the match surpassed the three-hour mark, and while he saved two break points in an 18-point fourth game, he was unable to escape unscathed in his next service game as Federer reeled off the final four games and five of the last six to avoid another big scare.
WHAT IT MEANS: Federer completed the career Grand Slam over Youzhny after major wins in Melbourne and Paris (2007) and London (2011). It was only the second time Federer won a five-set match at the US Open after dropping two of the first three sets. In 2014, he rallied from two sets down to topple Gael Monfils, 6-2 in the fifth.
In six Grand Slam tournaments, Federer has played multiple five-setters in the same year. On three occasions, these have been successive: in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the 2013 Australian Open; in the quarterfinals and semifinals of 2016 Wimbledon; and in the semifinals and final of the Australian Open in January.
The win means Federer has only lost once in the second round of a major in 13 years, at 2013 Wimbledon, when the defending champion lost to Sergiy Stakhovsky. Federer has never lost in the main draw of the US Open before the third round in 17 trips to New York.
For Youzhny, a two-time US Open semifinalist in 2006 and 2010, he has now lost in either the first or second round of 14 of 15 majors, the exception being last year’s US Open, where he made the third round.
Federer will play Spanish No. 31 seed Feliciano Lopez for a spot in the fourth round.
MATCH POINT: Another one-sided matchup on paper awaits Federer in the third round. He’s 12-0 against Lopez, although they haven’t played in two years. The last time they met in New York was in 2007, when Federer rallied from a set down to win in four. Considering he has spent five hours, 44 minutes on court through the first two rounds, if he starts slowly this time, is there enough in the legs to get back into the match?
