Photo by Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images
By Tom Perrotta

Roger Federer may not have the confidence he once had, may not be in the best shape he's ever been, may need a break from the grind of the tour. But at least Federer is not tired of tennis.

Federer passed with less than stellar marks in his first match at the US Open, taking five sets to defeat Igor Andreev 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 – but he certainly seemed to enjoy himself in the process.

"I think I'm at the stage today where I just really enjoy playing, you know, much more again," he said after the match. "Whereas maybe for a while it was quite always the same for me—go on court, you win all the time. So maybe you don't take it for granted that much anymore."

Andreev, the broad-shouldered Russian with an uppercut forehand that has Nadal-like spin, pushed Federer to the limit and pushed the Arthur Ashe day session into the early evening. Federer relished the fight, something he hasn't seemed to do in his surprising losses since the Wimbledon final. He pumped his fists. He pointed to his family and friends – the increasingly conspicuous Anna Wintour among them – in his box. When he addressed the crowd after the match ended, he sounded more like a junior who had won his first big-time match than the four-time defending champion. Federer explained his emotional display during his post-match press conference.

"It was really entertaining, not only for the fans, but for both of us," he explained later, micheviously adding, "I don't give myself the opportunity that much, you know, because I always win easily, and then five-setters don't happen.

"Like this, it's different... same as the Australian Open when I beat [Janko] Tipsarevic 9-7 in the fifth. Being part of some dogfights, it's fun for me. I was really happy because in five sets you go through different stages of feelings, of playing well, playing bad. And in the fifth set you try not to make that many errors, and hopefully, you'll get off on a good start. That's exactly what happened. I was just really pleased with my fighting spirit."

Federer pronounced himself pleased with his performance and praised Andreev for his spirited play. But this was not quite the Federer the U.S. Open has become accustomed to, at least not through the entire match. He had moments of brilliance: Elegant serve and volley points, forehands that skidded off the court at seemingly impossible angles, and a few backhands down the line that cleared the net by an inch on their way to the back corner of the baseline. Often, though, there were moments of hesitation and uncharacteristic awkwardness. Federer's feet—probably the most graceful and quickest pair of feet the sport has ever known—didn't quite arrive at the right spot on numerous forehands and backhands, and so the misses (and the mishits) were many. In all, Federer made 60 unforced errors.

Early in the fifth set, though, his feet rescued him. Andreev had saved two break points in the second game of the set; facing a third, he belted a serve into the outside corner. Andreev served exceptionally well all match, showing off one of the best second serves in tennis —"nice pace on it, nice spin as well," Federer said. Federer lunged to his left and blocked a backhand return just barely over the net. He also stumbled. And nearly fell. As he gathered himself, he saw Andreev prepare for a drop shot and sprinted forward. Six or seven steps later Federer had hit a perfect lob on the run. When Andreev retreated and hit a backhand wide, Federer turned to the crowd, lowered his head, and pumped both fists.

"It was a good moment. I think the moment of the night," Federer said.

Andreev is no titan of the hard courts. His career record on the surface is 57-51 and his career record at the U.S. Open, after yesterday's defeat, is 5-4 – he had never advanced beyond the second round before this year. While he played as well as he's capable of playing on Tuesday, he was helped by the reality that Federer couldn't quite find his game. Will the Swiss find it before the weekend?

Arthur Ashe Stadium is every bit Federer's home, perhaps even more than the All England Club was before Rafael Nadal laid claim to it. Federer has played just three five-set matches in his career here, and one came way back in 2000, when Federer was 19 years old. The second came in 2004, when he defeated Andre Agassi over two rain-delayed, wind-swept afternoons. Federer didn't look tired after beating Andreev, and might even welcome another test—anything to keep tennis enjoyable. But his play will have to be a lot better i, eventually, his opponent happens to be named Nadal.