Tennis
Federer into US Open quarters
2011-09-06 07:22
New York - Roger Federer was left waiting until
almost midnight to start his US Open fourth round match on Monday,
but made up for the delay with a brutal 6-1 6-2 6-0 win over Argentine
Juan Monaco to reach the quarter-finals.
The five-time champion
took the first set in 18 minutes and maintained his rapid pace as the
third-seeded Swiss eliminated his unseeded opponent in just 82 minutes
under the Arthur Ashe Stadium court floodlights.
"I'm very happy with the way I played," the 30-year-old Federer told the crowd in a courtside interview.
Asked about firing away on all cylinders right from the start, Federer
said: "I think you have to be ready. It is a very late start. I'm happy
that so many people stayed. It's nice."
Federer, who more than
doubled the number of points won by the overmatched Monaco, won one game
with the fewest possible strokes, firing four aces past Monaco in his
opening service game of the second set.
Asked if he thought about achieving the perfect service game, Federer said sheepishly, "Of course.
"You don't get a chance that often. It's only a game, only a few
points, but it's sure nice to win that way instead of having to go for a
10-minute game."
Monaco said he had no chance against Federer at his ruthless best.
"Roger was playing unbelievable," Monaco told reporters. "I didn't have
time to play. The ball was coming very fast. He was serving
unbelievable."
The lightning-quick win, which came as rain
clouds gathered and mist filled the air at the National Tennis Center,
marked the Swiss master's 30th successive trip to the quarter-finals of a
grand slam event, dating back to the 2004 French Open.
The
16-time major champion advanced to a mouth-watering clash against 11th
seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who rallied to overcome
eight-seeded American Mardy Fish in five sets earlier in the day.
Tsonga has won his last two matches against Federer, coming back from
two sets down to beat him in this year's Wimbledon quarter-finals.
"He's a tough player. I've had some really good matches against him,"
said Federer, who has a 4-3 career record against the Frenchaman.
"He's an exciting player to watch and to play against."
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