The Associated Press
NEW YORK–A bad back prevented Roger Federer from getting ready for the U.S. Open the way he prefers to prepare for a Grand Slam tournament.
And it’s showed so far.
Federer blamed a lack of proper practice after making an uncharacteristic 68 unforced errors and being forced to go five sets again before coming back to edge a cramping Mikhail Youzhny 1-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 yesterday in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It’s the first time the 36-year-old Federer has played five-setters in both the first and second rounds at a major tournament.
“I knew I was going to maybe struggle early on,” he admitted. “Maybe I struggled more than I would have liked to.
“But I’m still in the draw, which gives me a chance,” Federer reasoned. “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.”
Given that Federer entered the day with a 16-0 career record against Youzhny and a 16-0 mark in the U.S. Open’s second round, one might have thought their match would be a mismatch.
Think again.
“He’s also a real man who plays tennis,” Youzhny noted. “He’s not a god.”
Well, OK, that’s true. But remember: Federer did not drop a single set en route to his record eighth Wimbledon championship in July.
And that he is 37-3 with five titles, including two at majors, to raise his record total to 19.
Second on that list, with 15, is No. 1-seeded Rafael Nadal, who trailed by a set and a break before figuring things out and beating 121st-ranked Taro Daniel of Japan 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 last night.
That followed 20th-seeded American CoCo Vandeweghe’s 7-6 (6), 6-2 victory over Ons Jabeur of Tunisia under the lights.
What already was a wide-open women’s bracket became even moreso when 2004 U.S. Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova was upset by 116th-ranked Kurumi Nara of Japan 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
The No. 8-seeded Kuznetsova’s exit means five of the top eight women already are gone.
Two other seeded women lost to Americans in the afternoon: Shelby Rogers edged No. 25 Daria Gavrilova 7-6 (6), 4-6, 7-6 (5) in a tournament-record three hours, 33 minutes while Jennifer Brady eliminated No. 23 Barbora Strycova 6-1, 6-1.
A couple of seeded men departed, too: No. 7 Grigor Dimitrov and No. 15 Tomas Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up.
