FEDERER TO BEGIN FOR SIXTH U.S. OPEN TITLE ON TUESDAY & ITS ROGERS 60TH SLAM IN A ROW. THAT’S 15 YEARS OF GRAND SLAMS WITHOUT MISSING ONE.

Written by: Staff on 25th August 2014

FEDERER TO BEGIN FOR SIXTH U.S. OPEN TITLE ON TUESDAY & ITS ROGERS 60TH SLAM IN A ROW. THAT'S 15 YEARS OF GRAND SLAMS WITHOUT MISSING ONE.

epa04368612 Fireworks shoot over the Arthur Ashe Stadium during the national anthem performed by Fitz and the Tantrums during the 2014 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 25 August 2014. The US Open runs until 08 September. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

By Ricky Dimon

Roger Federer may not be the No. 1 seed this fortnight, but with no Americans among the top title contenders and 14-time major champion Rafael Nadal on the sideline, Federer is unquestionably No. 1 in the hearts of the majority of U.S. Open fans. They will get to see him in action for the first time at the 2014 installment of this tournament on Tuesday night when Federer takes the court for a round-one meeting with Marinko Matosevic.

Federer, a five-time champion in Flushing Meadows, is coming off a runner-up finish in Toronto and a title in Cincinnati. Matosevic has been decent this summer, with a quarterfinal showing in Atlanta and a second-round appearance as a qualifier in Cincinnati among his results. At the Grand Slam level, however, Matosevic is just 2-14 lifetime and had never won a match prior to this season’s French Open.

The only previous encounter between these two veterans came seven months ago on the hard courts of Brisbane, where Federer served up a 6-1, 6-1 double-breadstick.

“I have only played him once in Brisbane this year, and I played him very well on a similar court,” the 33-year-old Swiss reflected. “He’s had some better wins now. This year he’s really moved up the rankings. Clearly I’m aware that he can play some dangerous tennis, but at the same time, I feel like it’s on my racquet. I have to make sure he has to work extremely hard and he knows the finish line is really far away. I will try to keep it that way throughout the match.”

For the most part Federer has a favorable draw from start to finish, in part–of course–because Nadal is out with a wrist injury. The world No. 3 was asked about Nadal’s absence in his pre-tournament press conference on Saturday.

“I can’t talk for him,” Federer commented. “I don’t know what he really does in terms of his fitness, in terms of his training when he’s home in Mallorca, how much he trains, how little he trains…. I feel like I have managed my career well in the sense that I believe in rest in a huge way. Whenever I get a chance to rest, I do. Whenever I can go on vacation, I do. I don’t want to keep on playing all the time and feel like I’m always doing something, because I think the body and mind, they need time to heal.

“I’d rather skip a tournament here and there rather than missing three or six months, which has never happened to me. That served me well. So I can’t really comment on what Rafa did or is doing. I mean, everybody does it very differently. But clearly playing styles I’m sure has somewhat of an impact.”

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

Topics: 60th Grand Slam, Federer, Rafa, Tennis, US Open

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10sBalls_com says:

August 25, 2014 at 8:42 pm

@rogerfederer TO BEGIN FOR SIXTH @usopen #TITLE ON TUESDAY & ITS ROGERS #60TH #SLAM IN A ROW http://t.co/ovmaIV8X38 #tennis #Federer #USOpen
BobbyPositive says:

August 25, 2014 at 8:44 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: @rogerfederer TO BEGIN FOR SIXTH @usopen #TITLE ON TUESDAY & ITS ROGERS #60TH #SLAM IN A ROW http://t.co/ovmaIV8X38 #tenn…