US Open: Federer and Serena back to business with commanding third round wins, into second week

Roger Federer bounced back to his regular form with a straight sets win over Dan Evans, but also cursed in his press conference about influencing tournament scheduling. Serena Williams was back on track as well, winning her match over Karolína Muchová, in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.

If there were questions about Roger Federer’s and Serena Williams’s first two matches, the two legends answered them with resilient straight sets wins over their opponents. Federer just turned 38 earlier this month and had no problems dispatching his 29-year-old competitor, Dan Evans, in three sets, 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.

The Swiss took full advantage of the exhausted British player, who had just finished up his second-round match just shy of 18 hours prior due to the rain delays. Evans was understandably perturbed by the circumstances, especially having to turn around quickly and face a superior Federer.

Controversy stemmed from whether the five-time US Open champ had requested an earlier start time, whereas Evans had asked to play in the evening to allow for maximum recovery from the previous day’s match.

"”You think a guy who has my ranking has any say in that?” was Evans’ response when asked about it by reporters.”There is probably about four people in this tournament who has a say when they play,” Evans said. ”Maybe three.”"

But he added later, “Obviously the tournament would rather Roger going through that match than me, so it’s understandable,” according to the New York Post.

Evans and Federer practiced together prior to meeting in the third round, and the criticism didn’t sit well with Federer, who uncharacteristically cursed when asked about it in his press conference. The Swiss player had concluded his second-round match under the protective roof of Arthur Ashe.

"”But that doesn’t mean, like, ‘Roger asks, Roger gets.’ Just remember that, because I have heard this sh*t too often now,” Federer said, clearly irritated. ”I’m sick and tired of it, that apparently, I call the shots; the tournament and the TV stations do. We can give our opinion. That’s what we do. But I’m still going to walk out (on court), even if they schedule me at 4 in the morning.“But that’s tennis. It’s entertainment, and the show must go on. I’ve lost maybe matches this way. I’ve won some this time. Luck was on my side. There you have it. So, yeah, I understand if Danny is, like, a little bit frustrated.”"

This isn’t the first time that scheduling favoritism has been lobbed against the 20-time slam champion, most notably at the Australian Open, mentioned by French player Julian Benneteau. Federer retains close ties with the AO event thanks to the tournament director, Craig Tiley, and his support for Federer’s brainchild, the Laver Cup.

However, much of this is a ridiculous notion, in all honesty. Federer hasn’t always been graced with his first choice in Melbourne. At this year’s AO tournament, Novak Djokovic got the Rod Laver slot over Federer in notable matches. The Swiss player also didn’t ask for a cancellation of his match against Nadal during blistering wind conditions that forced tournament officials to cut Djokovic’s match that same day at this year’s French Open. After playing that same match against Djokovic, FO finalist Dominic Thiem was an exhausted mess in the final against Nadal when tournament officials wouldn’t reschedule the final, which would have provided fairer conditions for the Austrian. The accusations seem to be only thrown at Federer, which seems inaccurate at best.

Even Djokovic thinks the complaining is much ado about nothing.

It’s all a moot point, however: the outcome would have been the same regardless. Roger Federer won the match because he upped his game and put on a spellbinding performance, which even Evans conceded.

”I guess he has every shot,” Evans said, ”so it’s not ideal to have an opponent that has every shot.”

The dominant serve was back where it needed to be. The shot placement was stunning, including a particularly backwards volley that always enthralls the crowd. Federer packed the match with a variety of stunners, but most importantly, lessened the unforced errors that had stalled his first two matches. Overall, the magic was back, and the 38-year-old will be heading into his fourth round against a familiar opponent, David Goffin, with a ton of confidence.

https://twitter.com/kah22jad/status/1167108106507231232

In a day of GOATS, Serena Williams — who turns the same age as Federer, 38, next month — had no problem with her opponent either. Although her serve wasn’t at peak performance, the 23-time slam champion had so many incredible shots that cinched the win regardless, like this outrageously fast reaction:

Serena will face a Top 30 player next, No. 22 Petra Martić, who took out No. 12 Anastasija Sevastova, also on Friday.

Roger Federer is gunning for a sixth US Open title, Serena for her seventh. They are the only two players who own 20+ grand slam titles. If Fed gets to 21, it will close out an amazing grand slam season with a captivating storybook ending. If Serena gets the elusive 24th, she will equal Margaret Court’s overall tally. She already owns the Open Era record. Both are into the second week of the slam.

Stay tuned here for all your US Open and tennis action. For my predictions for the final slam of the year, listen to Just End the Suffering podcast here. Round three concludes on Saturday. The Round of 16 starts the second week, beginning on Sunday, all viewable on ESPN.