Federer looks back at best in straight-sets win at US Open
NEW YORK — This was Roger Federer at his hard-to-beat best, so unlike the pair of uncomfortable five-setters he laboured through to begin the U.S. Open.
Federer’s back looked just fine, his movement precise, his strokes absolutely on-point. It all added up to a straightforward 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory over 31st-seeded Feliciano Lopez in the third round at Flushing Meadows that lasted all of 106 minutes under the roof in Arthur Ashe Stadium on a rainy Saturday night.
“I think,” Lopez said, “he’s OK.”
The most telling statistic was that the No. 3-seeded Federer was guilty of 16 unforced errors, which is not merely a remarkably low total on its own merits but also significant when viewed through the prism provided by his matches earlier in the week. He averaged 62 errors in each of those outings, against 19-year-old American Frances Tiafoe and 35-year-old Russian Mikhail Youzhny.