Federer sets up Kyrgios clash at US Open

Five-times champion Roger Federer will face Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in the third round of the US Open following a straight-sets win over Frenchman Benoit Paire.

Federer, the No.2 seed, won 7-5 6-4 6-4 to make it through to the last 32 for the 18th time at Flushing Meadows.

“Overall I’m happy,” said Federer. “I think it was not a bad performance by any means by me. I can be pleased, so it’s all good.”

NEWS: Kyrgios through after umpire intervention

The Swiss will next face 30th seed Kyrgios for the fourth time, having beaten the Australian twice since losing their first encounter in Madrid three years ago.

Kyrgios made it through with a 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-0 win over Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert – a match which grabbed headlines after umpire Mohamed Lahyani intervened to urge more effort from Kyrgios.

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— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) August 30, 2018

“I know what I was doing out there wasn’t good,” said Kyrgios.

“I wasn’t really listening to him, but I knew it wasn’t a good look. It didn’t help me at all.

“It happened to me in Cincinnati two weeks ago against Del Potro, the exact same thing happened. I wasn’t putting forth my best performance.

“I did the same today. The umpire was like, ‘Nick, you can’t be doing this. It’s a bad look’. Same thing happened there.”

Asked about the prospect of facing Federer, the Australian added: “I definitely know that I won’t be the favourite, the crowd favourite here.

“I go into that match with zero expectations. I do believe I can beat him. I have done it before. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m going to be looking forward to it. I can’t do anything differently. I’ve got to recover.”

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev continued his impressive progress with a 6-4 6-4 6-2 win over Nicolas Mahut, and he next faces fellow German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

“This was always the Grand Slam where I didn’t play my best ever,” Zverev said.

“Game-wise, I never felt comfortable here. Finally I do.”

Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic overcame some late resistance from Tennys Sandgren to win 6-1 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 6-2.

“I’m not happy with the way I lost my concentration but at the end of the day I managed to regroup in the fourth,” said the two-time champion.

The Serb next faces France’s 26th seed Richard Gasquet or compatriot Laslo Djere.

Also advancing to the last 32 were No.7 seed Marin Cilic – who thumped Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 6-2 6-0 6-0 – plus fellow seeds David Goffin, Diego Schwartzman, Lucas Pouille and Kei Nishikori.

Nishikori and Schwartzman will play off for a place in the fourth round.