Federer survives scare to get past Tiafoe

A ruthless Nadal delivered Lajovic another tennis lesson, breaking his opponent at the first opportunity in both the second and third sets to improve his record in first-round US Open matches to 13-0.

And Federer is the only player who can dethrone Nadal as world number one at the US Open.

The roof has been closed at Arthur Ashe Stadium as light rain falls at the U.S. Open. “You’re not really hearing it”, he added.

The 36-year-old improved to 17-0 in first-round action in NY and has still not lost a first-round match at a Grand Slam since 2003 Roland Garros, when he fell to Peru’s Luis Horna.

“Look, if I enter the tournament, it’s because I believe I can play and go deep”.

United States 10th seed John Isner, the top-ranked player in his quarter of the draw thanks to a reshuffling when Britain’s Andy Murray withdrew due to a hip injury, opens against France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert. “I could play tennis for free, the sport I loved”, he told CNN in 2015. He said, “Some fans call me that; I don’t call myself that”. “It took a while to get used to it”.

At just 15 years old, Tiafoe won the prestigious Orange Bowl, becoming the youngest boys’ singles champion in the tournament’s history – a remarkable feat considering the list of previous champions, which includes Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Ivan Lendl, Jim Courier, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.

The match started to turn in the second set as Federer broke serve for 3-1 on his way to levelling the match before claiming another early break in the third.

“I think the unknown is the exciting bit, to be quite honest”. “It was a great atmosphere”.

Against him will be 19-year-old American Tiafoe, who he beat in straight sets at Miami this year and who should not offer too much resistance.

“I am feeling extremely well”.

With rain cancelling most outer court matches, Federer and Rafael Nadal were the only men to advance on Day 2 in NY, as their stature gave them the advantage of playing on the only court with a roof.

Two breaks of serve saw the Spaniard race into a 5-1 lead in the second set, which he eventually clinched with his fifth ace. “Probably not enough time to really hear that noise or realize something like that”.

“Excited to play on centre court for the first time with the proper structure and roof now”, he said. So that would have been tougher for me maybe to back it up back-to-back days. “The USTA make an awesome improvement for the fans, for the players, for the TVs, for everybody with the roof, and now they can make it even a little bit better if they can control a little bit more that”.

“That would be fun for everybody involved”, Federer said. “All the noise stays inside, and this is hard”.

“Rafa’s year has been exceptional, winning the 10th French Open”, he said.