Federer happy with result, if not the tennis
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roger Federer was surely happy with the result, even if his play against fourth-round opponent Igor Andreev of Russia was not up to his highest standards.
"Being down a set and tiebreak in the second set, obviously, there's danger written all over that situation," Federer told reporters after his 6-7 7-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 scare on a windy Arthur Ashe Stadium court on Tuesday.
"You just hope that it's going to turn your way. It did. So I'm happy."
Andreev, who this year has reached 23 in the rankings, played free and loose, bombing in huge topspin forehands and pounding his serves with consistency to frustrate Federer.
Federer, overtaken as world number one last month by Rafael Nadal after a record reign of 237 consecutive weeks, made a whopping 60 unforced errors -- spraying forehands, backhands and volleys wide, long and into the net with uncharacteristic frequency.
The second-seeded Swiss struggled at the start of the season, weakened by a bout of mononucleosis. He reached the French Open final and a glorious Wimbledon championship match against Nadal but is still seeking a slam title in 2008.
Federer said he felt fit for his quest for a fifth straight Open title.
"I feel I'm over it, but maybe I'm not playing my best yet. Who knows?" said Federer, who had not lost a set before his battle with 25-year-old Andreev.
"But I need to play my best. What I need to do is get through the matches. Hopefully the best match will come at the end of the tournament. That's what I'm looking forward to."
Federer exercised the powers of positive thinking when he asked to analyze his performance.
"I'm happy with the way I played today when the pressure was the highest," said Federer, who was egged on by the crowd with an affection and urging they usually lavish on underdogs.
"I think I'm at a stage today where I just really enjoy playing," he said. "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."
Federer said he even enjoyed that it was a five-setter.
"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."
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
