Roger Federer’s last stroke yesterday didn’t count. After Lleyton Hewitt’s forehand sailed long on match point, Federer, with purpose, walloped the ball high into the sunny Arthur Ashe Stadium sky, the ball landing in the front-row seats.
It was a stroke of relief. Federer had a rough mid-afternoon 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 struggle against a sharp former U.S Open champion that started Super Saturday one week early.
Hewitt, the Australian who conquered Flushing Meadows in 2001 but in recent times has become irrelevant, staged a mini-revival.
Federer dropped the first set and looked terrible doing it, committing 23 unforced errors”He’s one of the best players on the tour playing in winds, so it was tough to close it out,” said Federer, who had beaten Hewitt 13 straight times. “We played here in the 2004 finals, so third round didn’t seem right. I hope we put on a good show.”
Too good a show for the Federer faithful that didn’t want to see any upset special in a match that began at 11 a.m. Federer’s run of five straight Opens began with his triumph over Hewitt in 2004, and yesterday he captured his 37th straight Open match.
Federer’s third-round scare demonstrates how incredible his streak of 21 straight semifinal appearances in a Grand Slam truly is. He hasn’t missed a Slam semifinal since the French Open in 2004, when he exited in the third round.
“One of the streaks I enjoy,” Federer said. “But I’m not really aiming for the semis right now.”