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Federer sizzles in soaring heat

Tennis : Murray packs off Aussie Kyrgios; Lopez downs Mardy Fish in five-setter
Last Updated 02 September 2015, 19:28 IST

 Five-time champion Roger Federer and 2012 winner Andy Murray reached the US Open second round on Tuesday as the crushing heat took the number of first-round retirements to a record 10.

Second-seeded Federer had little trouble in seeing off Argentina’s world number 34 Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in just 77 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 34-year-old Swiss, bidding to become the oldest champion in New York in 45 years, fired 12 aces, 29 winners and broke serve six times.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion goes on to face Belgium’s Steve Darcis, who was handed a place in the next stage when Cypriot veteran Marcos Baghdatis retired injured with a groin strain.

It was the 10th retirement in the men’s event in the first round; there have also been two pullouts in the women’s draw.

Kyrgios bows out

Third seed Murray downed the sport’s latest bogeyman, Nick Kyrgios, 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 for his fourth win in four meetings against the Australian and third in three Grand Slam matchups this year.

The British star, who has made at least the quarterfinals in New York every year since 2010, goes on to tackle France’s Adrian Mannarino.

Kyrgios, the world 37, goes away to contemplate facing Murray again in the Davis Cup semifinals later this month.

Kyrgios, 20, showed glim­pses of his undoubted talent but his lack of focus once again cost him and he picked up a warning for swearing as the tie drifted away from him.

His Davis Cup teammate, Thanasi Kokkinakis, was also knocked out, retiring on one leg in the fifth set against French 12th seed Richard Gasquet.

But he battled on, serving underhand and forced to play at walking pace before he finally gave up, losing 4-6, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, 2-0 after almost three hours in 30-degree heat.

After six men retired on Monday, Kokkinakis, Baghdatis, Ernests Gulbis and Kazakhstan’s Aleksandr Nedovyesov joined the walking wounded on Tuesday.

Nedovyesov was down 6-0, 7-6 (2), 1-0 to former champion Lleyton Hewitt when he called a halt after suffering a right shoulder injury.

Hewitt, playing in his final US Open, will take on compatriot Bernard Tomic for a place in the last 32.

Tomic, seeded 24, beat Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur 5-7, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 6-3.
Wawrinka, the fifth seed and a semifinalist in 2013, made the next round with a 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) win over Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinoles.

French Open champion Wawrinka will next tackle South Korean teenager Chung Hyeon.
Japan may have lost fourth seed Kei Nishikori on Monday, but 19-year-old Yoshihito Nishioka restored some national pride with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-7 (9), 6-1, 6-2 win over fellow qualifier Paul-Henri Mathieu of France.

Fish ousted

The second round action, that kicked-off on Wednesday, saw the 18th seed Feliciano Lopez of Spain beat USA’s Mardy Fish 2-6, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, in what was an emotional farewell for the veteran.

The 33-year-old Fish, who has played just a handful of tournaments in the last three years and seen his ranking slip to 581, had already said that this US Open, his 13th, would be his last event.

But at one stage Wednesday, it appeared he wasn't going to go quietly as he served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set. But he was then broken to love by the 18th-seeded.

Lopez saved two break points in the seventh game in the decider when a suddenly stricken Fish started cramping, which reduced him to walking pace. He was subsequently broken and Lopez comfortably served out for the victory, despite a fan's desperate shout of 'You've got this Mardy.'

Earlier, seventh seed David Ferrer packed off Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic 7-5, 7-5, 7-6(4) to book his place in the third round.

Meanwhile in the womens’ section, Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova was the only major casualty as she bowed out to Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 5-5, 4-6. Seeded nineteenth at her home grand slam, Madison Keys had little trouble is seeing off Tereza Smitkova of the Czech Republic 6-1, 6-2.

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(Published 02 September 2015, 19:28 IST)

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