Five-time champion Roger Federer survived the onslaught by American teenager Frances Tiafoe to register a win in the first round of the US Open at Flushing Meadows.
The 19-year-old pushed the Swiss to the extreme, made him drop two more sets than he did during his entire two weeks en route to the Wimbledon title.
The 36-year-old Swiss won 4-6 6-2 6-1 1-6 6-4 in his first even match under the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof.
The Swiss drew on all his experience to quell Francis after dropping the first set and bounced back to seal the victory, keeping his hopes for a 20th Grand Slam crown alive.
Earlier, a very cute fan at the press conference asked the 19-time Grand Slam Champion why he often referred by the nickname GOAT (Greatest of All Time) even though there is not a lot of livestock in his native Switzerland.
Federer laughed off the question before responding that he wasn’t sure.
“Some fans call me that; I don’t call myself that,” ‘’we have a lot of animals in Switzerland and goats are part of the livestock we have over there, yes.”