New York: Once again, Roger Federer is through the first week of a Grand Slam.
Next comes the interesting part.
The five-time US Open champion defeated 27th-seeded Marin Cilic 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at blustery Flushing Meadows on Saturday, marking the 30th straight time he has made it to the round of 16 in a major.
Federer, who needs a title here to extend his streak to nine straight years with a major championship, fought off the range of his 6-foot-6 opponent and dealt with an unpredictable wind in Arthur Ashe Stadium to win his 225th match at a major, second best in history behind Jimmy Connors.
"The first and second set could've gone either way," Federer said. "He was dominating more of the baseline rallies. I didn't think I was serving particularly well during that period. I knew I had work to do on my serve. I think the wind was tricky. It took some adjustments but I took the right ones and thought it was a very high-quality match."
Federer's only major hiccup came at the end of the second set, when he got broken in the last game off a big Cilic forehand that Federer couldn't get back.
With Cilic facing a break point while serving at 4-all in the third set, he was warned by the chair umpire for a time violation. Cilic promptly double-faulted, giving Federer a 5-4 lead. Third-seeded Federer won seven of the next nine games to close out the match.
"As long as I'm moving on in the draw, I'm a happy man," he said.
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