Federer advances to face Hewitt while Nadal cruises
Five-time defending champion Roger Federer booked a third-round US
Open date with former world number one Lleyton Hewitt Wednesday while
six-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal cruised in his opener.
World number one Federer, seeking his 16th career Grand Slam title,
ousted Germany's Simon Greul 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 while Nadal's bid to complete
a career Slam began with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Frenchman Richard
Gasquet.
Knee tendinitis kept Nadal from defending his 2008 Wimbledon title
and sidelined him for two months, making this his first Grand Slam match
since losing to Sweden's Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the
French Open, a defeat that snapped his four-year title streak at Roland
Garros.
"Seems like I was two years outside of competition. I was two
months," Nadal said. "I'm fresher than ever in this tournament. I don't
know if this fresher is good but I'm fresh."
That's dangerous news for Federer, who has lost to Nadal in five Slam
finals and could meet him again for this year's US Open crown.
"Fantastic having him back. It seems like he is doing well. He won
very easily and that's great," Federer said. "If he's physically in
great shape, obviously he's got a great chance to go far.
"If he's on, he's going to be hard to stop."
Greul provided a somewhat grueling test for Federer, who was forced
to save two set points in the 10th game before the Swiss star held,
broke in the 11th game and held again for the set.
Federer netted a backhand to surrender a break in the second game of
the second set and trailed 0-30 in the fourth game before roaring back,
taking six of the last seven games to move on after one hour and 58
minutes.
"I knew I could be in for a battle," Federer said. "The level was
really high. There was a lot of intensity. I'm glad to get through with
a win." Federer's US Open unbeaten streak stretched to 37 matches as he
set up a rematch of his first US Open final triumph in 2004 against
Australia's Hewitt, who defeated Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3,
6-3, 6-4.
"I started his run here in the finals in 2004," Hewitt said. "It
would be nice if I could be able to be the one to finish it."
Federer has beaten the Aussie 13 times in a row and stretching that
streak would ensure the Swiss star remains atop the rankings no matter
what else happens in the Flushing Meadows fortnight.
"You've got to respect the player he is," Federer said. "If things go
badly you can lose very quickly."
Nadal fired seven aces and made only 10 unforced errors to win in one
hour, 41 minutes, improving the third-seeded Spaniard to 7-0 lifetime
against Gasquet and booking a second-round date against Germany's
129th-ranked Nicolas Kiefer.
"It felt good," Nadal said. "I served well in the important moments.
I played very well on my backhand, which is very important in my game.
I'm very happy to be in the second round."
Nadal can complete a career Grand Slam by capturing his first
Flushing Meadows crown.
"I hope I have the last Slam title here," he said. "They say the last
is the most special."
Nadal, who joked that his new haircut "makes him feel younger",
shrugged off any notion of lingering knee trouble.
"I don't have pain so I don't think (about it)," Nadal said. "I'm
playing and practicing with a good attitude.
That's the important thing right now, trying to get into a good
rhythm for the matches."
Argentine sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro advanced with a 6-3, 6-3,
6-1 victory over countryman Juan Monaco. The 20-year-old French Open
semi-finalist will next face Austrian Jurgen Melzer.
Former world number one Marat Safin concluded his Grand Slam career
with a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 first-round loss to Melzer. The 29-year-old
Russian, a two-time Grand Slam winner, will retire at year's end.
Safin, who won the 2000 US Open and 2005 Australian Open, might play
again this year, he is happy the Slam farewell tour has finally run its
course.
NEW YORK, Thursday AFP |