New York (AFP)
Roger Federer, N.3 World, lost Monday the first set of his first game of the US Open 2019, before dominating the Indian Sumit Nagal (190 and qualifying) 4-6, 6-1, 6- 2, 6-4.
"We had to forget this difficult first set, I missed a lot of balls, but my game came back in time," commented the Swiss after 2:30 of play.
"It may not be so bad to start with a match like that, it was the same at Wimbledon where I lost the first set also in my first game," he said in a press conference. . On the London turf, he eliminated Nadal in the semi-finals before losing against Novak Djokovic after a Homeric final.
Monday, Nagal played his luck bravely, unleashing including huge forehands without asking questions. And in front, Federer has committed a significant number of direct fouls (57 against 32 to his opponent) and has experienced many problems with his service.
"I do not know how many times I have served in the net ... rarely so much in any case, I think it was because I had to get used to bullets," he added.
"I was expecting a more alive ball," he said, regretting the ball's lack of responsiveness to the lift. "They are pretty easy to return," he said adding that they were likely to "accelerate during the tournament."
He still managed 12 aces but committed 7 double-fouls.
In the second round, the Swiss, who holds the record of five titles in Flushing Meadows with Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras but has not won since 2008, will face the Bosnian Damir Dzumhur (99).
© 2019 AFP