Roger Federer opens the attack on his sixth US Open title on Tuesday (7pm local time, Arthur Ashe Stadium). The Swiss made himself very rare on the ATP tour in 2018.
By Jörg Allmeroth from New York
Roger Federer’s opponent has already made a small gesture of submission. When the draw for the 2018 Open American Championships was sealed at the end of last week, Yoshihito Nishioka twittered: “I have no luck at the Grand Slam tournaments.
Luck – at least for Nishioka it was different from playing Federer in the Big Apple in the first round of the competition, after an opening match against Marin Cilic in Wimbledon. After all, the 22-year-old Japanese also let us know: “It will be an exciting experience. On a big court, in front of a sold-out house against a legend like Roger.”
Federer is, of course, the world’s number 177 favourite in the first match ever, but what the 20-time Grand Slam champion can be credited with during the opening phase of the US Open is the big question. A certain mystery also for Federer himself, who doesn’t want to be placed in the narrow circle of title contenders as usual: “There are others who are top candidates,” says the 37-year-old Swiss.
Federer had made himself scarce in the tour business of professional players, after Wimbledon he only competed at the Masters in Cincinnati, then lost in the final against Novak Djokovic. Since the end of March Federer has only played four tournaments at all, apart from Wimbledon and Cincinnati only the German competitions in Stuttgart and Halle. Federer’s performances are becoming more economical, but therefore also more unpredictable – because this economic approach does not make it easier to get into a match and tournament rhythm.
Federer’s last major US open coup was ten years ago, and the 2008 title was the culmination of a successful series of over five New York tournaments. It wasn’t until the 42nd game that Federer failed again in the Big Apple, against up-and-coming Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro in the 2009 final. Others then took command of the US Open, especially Novak Djokovic became the title hunter.
The Serbian is almost automatically regarded as the top favourite for the cup win, but not because of past exploits, but because of his strong form this summer – well documented by the victories in Wimbledon and also in Cincinnati. How disturbing Federer can intervene will become apparent, even if perhaps not yet necessarily in the match against the blatant outsider Nishioka. One thing has always remained constant for Federer: his beloved use in the Night Session, under the floodlights of the Arthur Ashe Arena.
Here is the men’s single tableau at the US Open 2018