NEW YORK — This was Roger Federer at his hard-to-beat best, so unlike the pair of uncomfortable five-setters he labored through to begin the U.S. Open.
Federer’s back looked just fine, his movement precise, his strokes absolutely on-point. It all added up to a straightforward 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 victory over 31st-seeded Feliciano Lopez in the third round at Flushing Meadows that lasted all of 106 minutes under the roof in Arthur Ashe Stadium on a rainy Saturday night.
“I think,” Lopez said, “he’s OK.”
The most telling statistic was that the No. 3-seeded Federer was guilty of 16 unforced errors, which is not merely a remarkably low total on its own merits but also significant when viewed through the prism provided by his matches earlier in the week. He averaged 62 errors in each of those outings, against 19-year-old American Frances Tiafoe and 35-year-old Russian Mikhail Youzhny.
That was the first time in the 36-year-old Federer’s career that he opened a Grand Slam tournament with two consecutive matches that lasted five sets.
More relevant numbers: Federer was broken eight times total in those matches, but only once against Lopez.
“I’m really pleased with the performance,” Federer declared. “It’s exactly, I guess, maybe what I needed going into the next round.”
Looming down the road is a possible semifinal matchup against No. 1 Rafael Nadal, Federer’s long-time rival. They have never met at the U.S. Open.
Nadal won earlier Saturday, although for the second match in a row, he needed to shake off a poor opening set that he dropped. Nadal advanced, though, once again figuring things out in the second set and strolling the rest of the way to defeat Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 and get to the fourth round.
The aspect that caused Nadal the most consternation was his difficulty converting break points, going 6 for 25.
“I overcame a tough situation today. That’s very positive for me. I am very happy about this,” Nadal said. “I know I cannot play very well always, and not the whole match.”