US Open 2019: Roger Federer records a win in his 100th match at Flushing Meadows
Roger Federer, in his storied career, has played 100 matches at three different Grand Slam tournaments.
The Swiss first arrived at the milestone at the 2017 Australian Open where he beat his arch-nemesis Rafael Nadal in the title match to win his 5th title in Melbourne.
Federer's century of matches at a second Grand Slam tournament came at Wimbledon the same year where he beat Tomas Berdych in the semifinals, en route to his 19th Grand Slam title.
In the process, the Swiss emulated Jimmy Connors as the only players in the Open Era to have played 100 matches at two different Grand Slams.
At the 2019 US Open, following his victory against Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal in the opening round, Federer stepped onto the court for his second-round encounter against Bosnia and Herzegovina's Damir Dzumhur, in the process becoming the first player since tennis opened its doors to professionals to play 100 singles matches at three different Grand Slam tournaments.
Here is a flashback of Federer's milestone matches during his 20 years at the US Open:
1st Match, 2000 First Round: Beats Peter Wessels
In his sixth Grand Slam appearance and first at the US Open in 2000, Roger Federer avoided a fourth first-round exit by the skin of his teeth, staving off a match point on his serve in the fourth set against Peter Wessels before triumphing in five.
The Swiss beat Canada's Daniel Nestor in straight sets in the second round before being stopped by Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round, which remains Federer's earliest exit at Flushing Meadows in 18 previous appearances at the tournament.
25th match, 2005 Fourth Round: Beats Nicolas Keifer
Defending champion Federer arrived at his 25th match at the 2005 US Open following straight-set wins over Ivo Minar, Fabrice Santoro and Olivier Rochus in the first three rounds.
The Swiss met German Nicolas Keifer in the 4th round and made a brisk start, taking the first set 6-4 before dropping his first set of the tournament. Federer recovered to take the next two sets and book a quarterfinal clash against David Nalbandian en route to his second title.
50th match, 2009 First Round: Beats Devin Britton
Five-time defending champion Roger Federer, in his 50th match at the tournament, faced American wildcard Devin Britton in the 1st round of the 2009 US Open.
Federer breezed to a two-set lead for the loss of four games before Britton offered some resistance in the third. However, he was powerless to stop the Swiss who emerged a 6-1 6-3 7-5 victor.
75th match, 2012 Second Round: Beats Bjorn Phau
In his 75th match at the US Open, Federer breezed past German Bjorn Phau 6-2 6-3 6-2 in a ninety-minute second-round match to record his 68th match win at the tournament and book a third-round meeting with Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
The win was Federer's 24th in as many night matches on Arthur Ashe stadium as the Swiss improved his perfect second-round record at Flushing Meadows to 13-0.
100th match, 2019 Second Round: Beats Damir Dzumhur
Federer opened his 19th Flushing Meadows campaign with an unconvincing four-set win over Indian qualifier Sumit Nagal. The Swiss looked rusty in his second hardcourt match of the season following Wimbledon and struggled for consistency, leaking an uncharacteristic 57 unforced errors and 7 double faults.
However, he managed to find a way to reach the second round for the 19th time in as many tournament appearances.
In his landmark 100th match at Flushing Meadows, the Swiss started poorly against Dzumhur, dropping his first two service games of the match and eventually conceding the opening set 3-6.
Federer toned down his unforced errors to take the next two sets 6-2 and 6-3. An early break of Dzumhur's serve sufficed in the fourth as Federer rolled to a 19th third-round in as many appearances at the US Open.
In the process, the Swiss maestro improved his win-loss record at the US Open to 87-13. Federer was also 87-13 after his 100th match at the Australian Open (beat Nadal in 2017 final) and 89-11 after his 100th match at Wimbledon (beat Berdych in 2017 semifinals).