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Roger Federer vs. Richard Gasquet: Score and Reaction from 2015 US Open
September 10, 2015
Roger Federer hadn't dropped a set at the 2015 U.S. Open entering Wednesday night's action, and he kept that streak alive with a clean quarterfinal victory over Richard Gasquet at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The world No. 2 waltzed to a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 win over Gasquet, who has now lost seven straight matches to Federer. According to ESPNTennis on Twitter, Federer improved to 9-0 all time on hard courts against Gasquet and now holds a 36-2 advantage over him at majors.
Federer is also now 29-1 in night matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium, per ESPN Stats & Info. No men's player has secured more wins under the lights since the arena opened in 1997.
And while the match was pushed up an hour due to concerns regarding rain, Federer didn't appear fazed one bit. He was so locked in that two of the world's biggest entertainers couldn't overshadow him, as the New York Times' Christopher Clarey observed:
The favorite was in control from start to finish, and his ability to tally a whopping 50 winners while ripping 16 aces placed him on a different plane than his 12th-seeded foe.
In a battle of beautiful one-handed backhands, Grantland's Brian Phillips noted Federer had the edge, which has been a familiar sight throughout his stay in Flushing Meadows:
Federer's serve was on point early, evidenced by the seven aces he compiled over his first three service games. And with a 3-2 lead early in the first, the No. 2 seed rattled Gasquet with a break that put him in the driver's seat.
Throughout the first set, Federer bested the Frenchman by winning an outrageous 89 percent of his first-serve points in a tidy 30-minute frame. He also tallied eight successful net approaches—double Gasquet's mark during the opening stanza.
Form like that allowed the 17-time major winner to blitz a competitor he believed had been playing some of his best tennis entering Wednesday night's match.
"I really like the way he played in Wimbledon, and also now here," Federer said Tuesday, according to ATPWorldTour.com. "I haven't seen that much. But the matches I saw that he played against Stan and Novak at Wimbledon were impressive. He had a good attitude. He was fighting. Good shot selection. It was nice."
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Federer is now 267-13 at majors when he wins the first set.
Federer kept at it in the second set with an early break that further distanced him from Gasquet. On the night, Federer won a grand total of 34 receiving points—18 more than his opponent.
With the straight-set victory in hand, Federer set up a semifinal victory with fellow countryman Stan Wawrinka, who defeated Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 at Louis Armstrong Stadium Wednesday night.
"Two Swiss in the semis of the U.S. Open is very cool," Federer said, per US Open Tennis.
If Federer can survive the all-Swiss semifinal, he'll face the winner of the other men's semifinal between Marin Cilic and Novak Djokovic.
And if he's fortunate to square off against one of those players, Federer will have redemption on his mind. Not only did Djokovic down Federer in this year's Wimbledon final, but Cilic bounced the 34-year-old in the semifinals of last year's U.S. Open en route to a title.
But considering both Wawrinka and Federer are both rolling following quarterfinal cakewalks, the Swiss showdown should be the marquee men's semifinal.