Henrik Lundqvist was in attendance Friday night, three days after Michael Jordan sat in Roger Federer’s courtside box.
Other than the presence of sports royalty in attendance, however, the second-seeded Federer’s first two matches at the U.S. Open haven’t held much intrigue unless blowouts are your preference.
Federer has yet to be challenged so far in Flushing, which is what some predicted for the Swiss maestro, when his soft-as-Charmin side of the draw was released.
After taking down Australian Marinko Matosevic in straight sets on Tuesday, Federer handled Sam Groth in three sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, at Arthur Ashe Stadium. He will meet Spaniard Marcel Granollers, who upset No. 25 Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 7-6 (6), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4, in the third round.
After losing in the fourth round last year — his earliest exit at the U.S. Open in a decade — Federer’s star looked to be dimming. But he has bounced back with a huge year, reaching the Australian Open semifinals and Wimbledon final while compiling a 51-9 record, and appears primed to make another big run in Queens, perhaps win his 18th Grand Slam title.
Federer said he doesn’t think about his place in history often, he said, but the all-time leader in Grand Slam titles understands its importance.
“When you can play for history and you do it, that’s what is so really cool, is that you can then be compared to other greats or you’ve passed another great,” Federer said. “Even though it doesn’t mean you’re better than [another great player]. But it’s just like that moment you’ve gone into the unknown where nobody else has ever been before.So I can really tell you when it’s all said and done, because my career went so much better than I thought it would anyway. I said it a million times, but it’s so true.”
For a moment Friday night, it looked as if the 26-year-old Groth — who has recorded the fastest serve ever, at 163.4 mph— would force a fourth set after dropping the first two. He was up a break in the third set, before folding like a beach chair against a stiff wind. Leading 4-2 in the third, Groth had his serve broken and lost the final four games of the set. Federer closed the match with a 101 mph ace.
“Maybe the pressure got to him a little bit just because of my opportunities I created.”
The heavy-serving Aussie did himself in with faulty net play and weak groundstrokes that were no match for Federer’s improved net game and world-class passing shots. Federer broke Groth four times, handling his unranked opponent’s big serve well, even recording a winner on a 142 mph serve.
“[Groth has] got unbelievable power,” Federer said in his on-court, post-match interview, “so my arm is still vibrating a little bit.”