Federer gives crowd serve tips after US Open win
NEW YORK - Roger Federer provided a tennis clinic both during and after his win over Dudi Sela at the U.S. Open on Thursday.
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."
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It worked great against Sela. Federer finished with six aces and maxed out at 128 mph in what looked very much like a tune-up — 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 and questions are now coming up about how long he can stay at the elite level.
Against the 93rd-ranked Sela, though, none of this was an issue. Federer improved to 58-6 for his career at the U.S. Open.
"It's tough to play him, especially when you're not at your best and on center court," Sela said. "On Court 25, maybe I'd have a bigger chance. I had no chance against his serve."
No. 28 Serena Williams took the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium after Federer and needed just 49 minutes to advance. The 13-time Grand Slam champion beat 183rd-ranked Dutch qualifier Michaella Krajicek 6-0, 6-1 in the second round Thursday. She closed it out with her 10th ace.
No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 8 Mardy Fish were scheduled for later matches, as was top-seeded woman Caroline Wozniacki, who is in search of her first major title.
In other early action, No. 16 Ana Ivanovic got a walkover when her opponent, Petra Cetkovska, pulled out with an injured quadriceps.
"It's never nice to win this way," said Ivanovic, a former No. 1 moving her way back up the rankings after a drop into the 60s last year. "But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy to be through to the next round."
No. 7 Francesca Schiavone also had an easy day in a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Mirjana Lucic.
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.
On the men's side, ninth-seeded Tomas Berdych defeated Fabio Fognini of Italy, 7-5, 6-0, 6-0, while No. 7 Gael Monfils split the first two sets against Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Williams' sister, Venus, withdrew on Wednesday, citing a recently diagnosed autoimmune disease, Sjogren's syndrome, which can cause fatigue and joint pain. In an interview Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America," she said she plans to return to tennis.
Venus Williams pulls out of US Open with illness
What is Sjogren's syndrome?
"Sjogren's is something you live with your whole life," Williams said. "The good news for me is now I know what's happening after spending years not knowing. ... I feel like I can get better and move on."
She said she suffered from swelling, numbness and "debilitating" fatigue.
Asked before her match how she felt about her sister's withdrawal, Serena Williams said, "It's tough but I'm here to focus on today."