Seeking an elusive sixth US Open, Federer fends off Nagal in four sets

NEW YORK—Roger Federer has made the seemingly impossible a reality since 2004, the year he first ascended to No. 1 in the world, the year he first held multiple major trophies, and the year he first won the US Open. His spectrum of incredulity runs from the granular—an actutely angled backhand here; a jaw-dropping drop shot there—to the grand: 102 tournament victories, 20 Grand Slam titles and a reign near the top of the ATP rankings with longevity bordering on the absurd.

His achievements astound. But some of his shortcomings seem impossible in their own right:

—Federer has lost to Novak Djokovic three times in the last two rounds of a Grand Slam tournament when holding double match point.

—After winning the US Open five consecutive years, from 2004 to 2008, Federer has failed to win the hard-court major in any of the following 10 years.

The second item is even more astonishing given Federer’s sustained excellence throughout the past decade. His losses at Flushing Meadows run a different kind of spectrum, ranging from regret (his 2009 final-round loss to Juan Martin del Potro, a match Federer has said he wishes he could have back) to shock (his semifinal losses to Djokovic in 2010 and 2011, after holding match points) to concerning (against Tommy Robredo, the Maria Sharapova to his Serena Williams, in 2013). He only failed to play the tournament once due to injury, in 2016; in almost every other year of Federer’s drought, he has simply been unable to close when it’s mattered most. A tournament he seemingly owned has become a personal house of horrors.

What do we make of Roger Federer in New York? (Getty Images)

Federer fans still shellshocked from the Swiss’ loss to Djokovic in July’s Wimbledon final—a match that could have ended the GOAT conversation and put the Grand Slam title count out of reach, in my opinion—were surely thinking the worst as Monday night progressed. Federer had just dropped the first set of his first-rounder, not to an accomplished unseeded player or an ace-machine that bullied his way into a tiebreaker, but to the unheralded qualifier Sumit Nagal. Ranked 190th in the world, Nagal—whose last name also just happens to recall another Federer nemesis—was making his main-draw debut at a major. It would have been the coup de grâce.

In truth, Nagal did many of the things Rafael Nadal has done to torment Federer over the years. He hit with plenty of topspin. He tracked everything down. He redlined and connected. He made Federer work for each point, even during instances when he could have pulled back. Take Federer’s 5-1 service game in the second set, which went at least five deuces. Or at 5-4 in the fourth set, when Nagal earned four break points as Federer tried to serve out the match.

"I played a little bit like my beard today," a stubbly Federer said. "Rusty."

But perhaps Federer needed a test in his opener, having played just two matches since Wimbledon: one a victory Juan Ignacio Londero, in Cincinnati, and other an uncompetitive loss to Andrey Rublev.

Sumit Nadal snagged the first set from Roger Federer and sent a buzz through Arthur Ashe Stadium. (Getty Images)

As Federer took a 2-0 first-set lead, tennis Twitter was full-steam ahead crafting Nadal-Nagal puns. Dad jokes they were. But, then again, Federer is a father of four.

He began to look his age quickly. This is the first Slam Federer has competed at 38, and errors began to flow from his racquet like the groans cascading from Arthur Ashe Stadium's nosebleeds. At 4-4, the 22-year-old pounced, then held serve to the delight of the many Indian fans in the crowd.

“I don’t care what the commentators will be saying about me on TV,” Nagal told ATPTour.com before the match. “I’m going to be enjoying the crowd, playing the best tennis player ever. I’m just some dude from India. I’m fine with that until I make my name. That’s it.”

While Federer's form improved enough to eventually see him shake off Nagal, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, the giant underdog may have made a name for himself in valiant defeat. Or, at the very least, he got tennis Twitter to talk more about him, and less about the man he sounds like.

Federer, of course, made a name for himself a long time ago. This dude from Switzerland made himself a household name in America back in 2004, and he's still a must-watch today.

"It was a tough first set for me, because I had the lead and then he came back really strong," Federer said. "It all came back just in time, and in the end I played good tennis."

Whether we'll be watching him on this court two Sundays from now remains to be seen. But if he does, and he succeeds that day, he'll have just made impossible real once again.

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