World number three Roger Federer survived a first-round scare from Frances Tiafoe before grinding out a 4-6 6-2 6-1 1-6 6-4 victory over the American teenager in front of a raucous crowd at the US Open on Tuesday.
Federer looked more relieved than overjoyed when Tiafoe’s forehand found the net on match point to keep his hopes of a 20th grand slam title alive.
Here is a breakdown of the statistics from the match (prefix number denotes seeding):
3-Federer vs Tiafoe
Aces: 17 vs 5
Double faults: 4 vs 6
Break points won: 6/13 vs 4/5
Winners: 41 vs 23
Net points won: 17/25 vs 9/17
Unforced errors: 56 vs 49
Total points won: 133 vs 121
Match time: Two hours and 37 minutes
It was for the first time that Federer has taken five sets in the first round at Flushing Meadows since making debut against Peter Wessels in 2000.
Meanwhile, Federer's 79th US Open match win has tied him in second place with Andre Agassi, behind only Jimmy Connors on 98.
Despite coming away with the win, the shaky performance raises questions about the health of the 36-year-old Swiss, who sat out the Cincinnati Masters earlier this month with back pain.
He acknowledged that he was worried about his back going into the match but said he felt "much, much better".
"This win will give me a lot of confidence," he said.
Due to rain, the speedy 2-hour and 35-minute five setter was played under the closed roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium, which amplified the volume of the rowdy crowd.
He will now cross swords against either Slovenian Blaz Kavcic or Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the second round.
