Roger Federer recovers from early scare to beat Damir Dzumhur and reach US Open third round

Challenge: For the second match in a row, Roger Federer came from a set down to win in four.
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Joe Krishnan28 August 2019

Roger Federer again had to come from a set down to advance to the third round at the US Open after beating Damir Dzumhur.

The Swiss legend found himself in trouble early on losing the first set to the player ranked 99th in the world.

But the 20-time Grand Slam winner used all of his experience and class to mount his comeback - just as he did in the first round against Sumit Nagal.

The 38-year-old took two hours and 22 minutes to seal a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 victory at the Arthur Ashe Stadium and book his spot in round three on Friday.

As rain delayed play on the outside courts, Federer was one of the few fortunate enough to have the roof cover allowing him to get his second round match out of the way.

In Pictures | 2019 US Open Tennis

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But Federer, a five-time champion at Flushing Meadows, was extremely rusty and struggled to get any sort of rhythm, committing several unforced errors as he went down a double break.

Dzumhur was playing well and serving superbly and, while Federer wiped out one of the breaks, he was a fair bit behind the Bosnian as he secured the first set 6-3 after just 29 minutes.

Federer had broken out of his coocoon, finally, and broke early in the second set. He was still met with some tough resistance from the unflappable 27-year-old, but with each game Federer's class shone through.

No sooner had he gone behind, Federer had levelled after grabbing a double break with an hour gone, sealing the second set 6-2.

Dzumhur was struggling with an abdominal injury and that only invited Federer to crank up the heat. He was attacking more, approaching the net with increased confidence and finding some of the breathtaking groundstrokes we're so used to seeing.

Federer eventually ran away with the third set after a missed opportunity in the sixth game for Dzumhur and that proved fatal.

Federer grabbed the break early in the fourth and never looked back, remaining unbeaten on his serve in each of the last 10 service games.

After two hours and 22 minutes, the crowd were up on their feet cheering the man who hasn't triumphed here since 2008. Could this be the year he ends the drought?

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