Roger Federer vs. Leonardo Mayer: Score and Reaction from 2015 US Open

It's been seven years since Roger Federer's last U.S. Open championship. You wouldn't have known it Tuesday.

Federer needed only 77 minutes to take down Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 in their first-round matchup at Flushing Meadows. The world No. 2 hit 12 aces and won on 84 percent of his first-serve opportunities against the Argentine, who was a year removed from a third-round run at the year's final major.

Stuart Fraser of the Daily Mail noted this was supposed to be a "tough" draw:    

Federer has now won his last 50 first-round matchups in Grand Slams. His last first-round loss came at the 2003 French Open, the final major before he won his first Wimbledon championship. The years since have seen Federer become perhaps the greatest men's tennis player in history, as he's embarked on a sustained run of excellence that has somehow continued past his 34th birthday.

Federer entered the U.S. Open playing his best tennis of the year, earning two wins and a finals appearance in his last three tournaments. The Swiss even took a straight-sets triumph over rival Novak Djokovic at the Cincinnati Masters last month.

KENA BETANCUR/Getty Images

"He's playing some of the best tennis of his life," Djokovic said, per Peter Bodo of ESPN.com. "Many people did talk about his career coming to an end after that season [2013] that was below his standard, but he came back stronger."

Federer certainly looked the part Tuesday, coming out with a no-nonsense approach that showed no signs of weakness. He took the first set in 22 minutes despite marked issues with serve accuracy, taking advantage of Mayer's four double-faults and 10 unforced errors. (For his part, Federer compiled three double-faults and hit less than half of his first-serve opportunities.)

Tennis writer Gaspar Lanca compared the two after the first set:

The first set also saw Federer continue his aggressive push to the net, winning five of seven points. He wound up crashing 24 times compared to Mayer's 10, winning a solid 15 points. 

"He's using every possible opportunity to come to net. He makes things happen very fast," Djokovic said, per Bodo. "[Andy] Murray, [Rafael] Nadal, myself...we like a little more time. I think he knows that. Tactically, he's trying to take time away, and he's very fit as well."

The next two sets were even more dominant, as Federer fixed his serve-accuracy issues and refused to blink even as Mayer made improvements. He double-faulted only two more times against eight aces, hitting a remarkable 31 of 41 first serves in play. That display allowed him to win all but seven points on first serves overall.

Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

"Everybody knows it's your last chance to do well at a Slam or win a Slam," Federer said, per Reuters (via the Star). "So there are not really easy matches out there. Just want to make sure I get going good at the very beginning."

Federer will now look to continue his solid start against either Marcos Baghdatis or Steve Darcis, who are scheduled to play later Tuesday afternoon. Baghdatis has one career win against Federer in eight matches, while Darcis has never gone against the all-time great.

Given Federer's level of play of late, it's unlikely to matter which of the two makes his way through. The 17-time Grand Slam champion is a wrecking ball looking to win his first major since 2012—and perhaps the last one of his career. It'll take an effort from one of the world's best to take him down.

Mayer wasn't getting the job done.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter.