Federer sails through while other stars survive scares at Day 2 of the U.S. Open

Roger Federer looked energized and took control of his match against Yoshihito Nishioka, winning in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4.

Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova, on the other hand, had much more difficult matches on a brutally hot day at the U.S. Open.

Several women’s U.S. Open finalists survived their first round matches on Tuesday. Maria Sharapova, who won at Flushing Meadows in 2006, was fortunate to play a night match, but even then, the heat was still sticking to the players and she and 39-year-old Patty Schnyder went the distance on Louis Armstrong, during the last match of the night. The Russian won in straight sets, but was pushed, having to defend all over the court to fight for the second set tie break win. Some of the rallies between the five-time slam champ and the Swiss Schnyder were worth staying up late for, they were incredible. It was sad to see anyone go home after such a hard-fought victory, but the Russian eked out the win, 6-2, 7-6(6), and seemed more relieved than celebratory with the achievement.

The same could be said for the reigning Wimbledon champion, Novak Djokovic, who nearly went down two sets before recovering in the third to come back and win his first round scare against Márton  Fucsovics, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0. The heat was so bad during their day match that both players were awarded a well-deserved 10-minute break due to the health risks involved with the record heat.

Djokovic hilariously described the two of them being naked in the locker room in separate ice baths to cool down during the break.

The respite seemed to help the Serb reset after dealing with some leg cramping earlier in the set.

Last year’s finalist Madison Keys assertively clocked in her win over France’s Pauline Parmentier in two smooth sets, 6-4, 6-4, and seems cool and confident rolling into her second round.

The top seed left in the draw, Caroline Wozniacki, survived 2011 U.S. Open winner Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-2, with ease, and looks strong going forward.

Eugenie Bouchard, after coming through the qualifying rounds, won her match with Harmony Tan, moving on to the second round for the first time in three years. Bouchard has been ranked as high as No. 5, but is currently 137 due to injuries and loss of form. Bouchard was a finalist in 2014, but became embroiled in a lawsuit with the USTA over a slip in the trainer’s room in 2015, which was just settled this year.

Roger Federer had seemed tired in the legs in the Cincinnati Open final a week ago, where he lost to Djokovic, but he looked like the smooth granddaddy of them all with a ruthless win over Yoshihito Nishioka in three masterful sets.

“Thankfully I wasn’t too nervous tonight. I felt good,” said Federer afterwards. “I felt like I had a good preparation week. No hiccups there. I think that settles my nerves there.

“I’m very pleased to be back in New York, of course.”

Federer hasn’t won at Flushing Meadows in 10 years, but holds five back-to-back slam titles there and is gunning for his record sixth U.S. Open as well as 21st GS.

Nick Kyrgios used every trick in his arsenal to achieve his four-sets win over Radu Albot, 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Federer, when he was interviewed on ESPN afterwards.

“I think he finds it hard to not do any of those tricks,” said Federer.

“It keeps me relaxed,” said Kyrgios about his fun, vocal, and entertaining approach. “I speak to my team a lot. I was speaking to you a lot. It was a lot of fun.”

Alexander Zverev—looking for his first grand slam win—had perhaps the breeziest victory of them all, gliding past Canadian Peter Polansky in three extremely efficient sets, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. The smooth win is clear evidence that the new coaching partnership with Ivan Lendl (who previously coached Andy Murray) is paying off.

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“I hope in the long run this will help me, as well,” said Zverev about having Lendl on board. “This was a first round. This was a first round of the first tournament that we are together. Hopefully I’ll play a lot more matches here.”

Second round matches get underway on Wednesday, with Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Garbine Muguruza headlining the day. U.S. Open matches can be viewed on the ESPN channels.

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