Federer labours past Youzhny

Roger Federer has laboured into the third round of the US Open after a five sets win over Mikhail Youzhny. Federer, playing his 80th match at Flushing Meadows, needed more than three hours to down the Russian 6-1 6-7(3) 4-6 6-4 6-2.

It had all started so well for the third seed. Facing a man whom he had beaten 16 times, Federer swept through the first set in just 26 minutes.

Up a break and serving for the second, everything seemed to be going to plan for the five-time champion. Then the match flipped on its head. Federer’s movement became laboured and Youzhny broke back. Federer held on to force the tiebreak, but Youzhny was able to level the match at a set apiece.

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Growing in confidence, Youzhny started to move Federer around the court, earning the decisive break in the fifth game of the third set. As the Arthur Ashe crowd attempted to rally on one of their heroes, the Russian swept to the third, doubling the total number of sets he had won in all of their previous encounters (which now stands at four).

If Federer was ruffled, it didn’t show. Breaking early, the Swiss raced away to a 5-2 lead in the fourth. Again Youzhny rallied, and again he closed the gap. But the Swiss edged a tense, tight service game and took the match to the decider.

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Youzhny was beaten. Although the Russian stayed with the Swiss in the opening exchanges, once Federer had the break he was always in control. Youzhny was able to save match points, before the Swiss finally served out a difficult win.

“These five-set battles are actually quite a lot of fun,” Federer said after the match, “and I feel quite warmed up by now.”

Only two men have won the title after being pushed to five in their first two matches at a Slam: Boris Becker (Australian Open 1996) and Gaston Gaudio (Roland Garros 2004).