FEDERER WINS, IMPRESSES MICHAEL JORDAN AT U.S. OPEN IN HIS NEW NIKE SHOES

Written by: Staff on 26th August 2014

Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a return against Marinko Matosevic of Australia during the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 26 August 2014. The US Open runs until 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO

epa04370115 Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a return against Marinko Matosevic of Australia during the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 26 August 2014. The US Open runs until 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

Federer wins, impresses Michael Jordan at U.S. Open TENNIS , Anna Wintour & Roy Sakaguchi

By Ricky Dimon

Dressed in his traditional black for a night session at the U.S. Open, Roger Federer treated a thoroughly entertained crowd–which included NBA legend Michael Jordan–to a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over Marinko Matosevic. Fededer needed two hours and seven minutes to book his spot in the second round.

The 33-year-old Swiss was debuting a new Nike shoe designed in conjunction with the Jordan brand.

“It looks very nice,” Jordan said of the shoe. “He looks so smooth. I’ve seen him on TV, but you never really understand how smooth and how relaxed and how fundamentally-sound he makes the game look…. He looks good in his shoes, without a doubt. But he makes the shoes look a lot better.”

“I’m just so happy that he came into the world of tennis a little bit,” Federer said of Jordan in his press conference. “Got to see some tennis. That it was me sort of being the character in the whole show was kind of cool with the collaborations of the shoes, which is very special to me I must say. He was one of the smoothest movers out there. So for him to give me that compliment means a lot. Meeting him yesterday for the first time was a big deal for me.”

Ivo Karlovic of Croatia hits a return to Jarkko Nieminen of Finland during the second day of the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing, Meadows, New York, USA, 26 August 2014. The US Open runs through 08 September, a 15-day schedule. EPA/PETER FOLEY

Federer was not the oldest man to advance on Tuesday. Ivo Karlovic, 35, defeated Jarkko Nieminen 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. The 6’11” Croat fired 24 aces and faced no break points in either the first or fourth sets.

Karlovic’s victory means players 18 years apart in age have reached the second round. Fellow Croat Borna Coric, 17, upset Winston-Salem champion Lukas Rosol 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday afternoon. Coric had to qualify just to get in the main draw, during which he ousted another 17-year-old in American Stefan Kozlov.

“It’s amazing feeling,” Coric assured.” I came here and I was only thinking about getting in the main draw. That was my first goal. I said to myself, ‘If I achieve that, that’s going to be perfect.’ Now actually winning a guy who is top 30, it’s just unbelievable. I defended all my points till the end of this year and now my schedule is going to change. All the things are going to be a little bit easier now.”

Coric sounded conflicted when asked if the Wimbledon upset of Rafael Nadal by fellow teenager Nick Kyrgios had impact on him.

“I don’t look so much at the other players,” he explained. “It’s (an) unbelievable job from him, but it doesn’t mean anything to me. But also it actually showed that even younger players can play with the top 10 or maybe top 20 level. In some [way], yes, it actually show me that we can all play with them. But also, I’m just looking at myself.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Ivo Karlovic, Marinko Matosevic, Michael Jordan, nadal, Nick Kyrgios, RF Nike shoes, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis News, US Open

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10sBalls_com says:

August 26, 2014 at 9:26 pm

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