After Andy Murray bowed out to a big-server in Kevin Anderson, Roger Federer would have felt a bit of trepidation going into the match against the giant John Isner, but the great that he is, the Swiss master found a way through in three difficult sets to move into the quarterfinals of the US Open 2015.
Federer would have known this fourth round match at the Arthur Ashe Stadium will not be an easy "Ok two breaks a set" match, and so it proved to be.
The world number two, who by the way has as good a serve as anyone on the circuit, had to use all of his experience and tie-break nous to eventually come through 7-6 (7-0), 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 in two hours and 39 minutes.
In a match where neither player broke serve until the last game, it was about who held their nerve better in the tie-breakers, and that man proved to be Federer.
After absolutely breezing through the first breaker 7-0, Federer, who had ten break points on the Isner serve in all, but could convert only one of them, and that too right at the end, showed his experience and big-match ability in the second set tie-breaker, holding his nerve in a close contest.
The match looked headed for a third straight tie-breaker, with Federer, who matched Isner serve for serve, firing in 15 aces to the American's 17, holding comfortably to make it 6-5.
However, knowing that he was just one game away from victory, Federer cranked up the pressure a wee bit and Isner suddenly got tight. A couple of unforced errors and a beautiful Federer backhand gave the great man three set points, which he converted at the second time of asking after Isner sent a volley long to march into another Grand Slam quarterfinal.
In the men's singles fourth round match, which went late owing to the Murray vs Anderson match lasting more than four hours, Richard Gasquet came back from a set down to beat Tomas Berdych 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.
The reward for that win for Gasquet? A quarterfinal against Federer.
