New York — Roger Federer provided a tennis clinic both during and after his win over Dudi Sela at the U.S. Open yesterday.
Prompted in the on-court interview after his 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory over the Israeli to give all the tennis players in the stands a few quick pointers about how to dial in their serve, Federer offered this advice.
“It all starts with a good ball toss,” he said after moving easily to the third round. “Sometime, people think it’s just the swing, but I think the ball toss creates your motion after that. You should keep your elbow high on the serve, then the better you get, the more you can use rotation and legs.”
It worked great against Sela. Federer finished with six aces in a second-round win that took only 1 hour, 17 minutes.
Federer came into the U.S. Open as the third seed and is trying to avoid going an entire year without a major victory for the first time since 2002. He turned 30 on Aug. 8, prompting questions on how long he can play at an elite level.
Djokovic
advances
In the night’s late match at Arthur Ashe Stadium, top-ranked Novak Djokovic’s had an equally easy time over 1 1/2 hours to beat Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 6-0, 6-0, 6-2.
At least Djokovic put on a show while improving to 59-2 in 2011. He repeatedly toyed with his opponent, including a back-to-the-court, between-the-legs shot to win a point in the last game. Djokovic then cupped a hand to his ear, as though telling fans, “Let me hear you!”
Earlier, No. 28 Serena Williams beat Michaella Krajicek 6-0, 6-1 in 49 minutes to end the day session about three hours earlier than normal. The other day match in Ashe was No. 7 Francesca Schiavone’s 6-1, 6-1 victory over Mirjana Lucic.
Williams, who pulled out of a warmup match in Cincinnati last month, hasn’t lost a match in which she’s actually taken the court since the round of 16 at Wimbledon.
Monfils upset
Juan Carlos Ferrero outlasted seventh-seeded Gael Monfils 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round after a thrilling match that lasted nearly five hours.
The crowd of more than 10,000 in Louis Armstrong Stadium saluted both players with a standing ovation that lasted more than a minute before the final game, which the 31-year-old Ferrero served out at love. He briefly reached No. 1 eight years ago, but the Spaniard has missed most of this season with a series of injuries and is ranked 105th.
Top-seeded woman Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark lost her serve in the first game, then rolled off 12 of the next 13 in an easy 6-2, 6-0 victory over Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands.
Wozniacki, in search of her first grand slam title, has lost a total of six games in her first two matches at Flushing Meadows. Wozniacki’s next match is against American Vania King, who beat 29th-seeded Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia earlier Thursday.
In other early action, No. 16 Ana Ivanovic got a walkover when Petra Cetkovska pulled out with an injured quadriceps.
No. 11 Jelena Jankovic and No. 18 Roberta Vinci also advanced in straight sets while No. 10 Andrea Petkovic needed three sets to get by Zheng Jie of China.
other results
On the men’s side, No. 8 Mardy Fish, got to the third round for the third consecutive time at the U.S. Open by beating Tunisian qualifier Malek Jaziri 6-2, 6-2, 6-4, while ninth-seeded Tomas Berdych defeated Fabio Fognini of Italy, 7-5, 6-0, 6-0. AP