U.S. Open: Roger Federer must decide whether to use new return against John Isner

NEW YORK – Roger Federer might not be so keen to try out his old-dog-new-trick, rush-the-net “SABR” – “sneak attack by Roger” – return strategy against his next opponent at the U.S. Open.

“I don’t think so,” Federer said. “I can always try. But it’s probably not the right guy to do it against.”

Probably not.

That’s because the second-seeded Federer, who advanced Saturday by beating 29th-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, will have to deal with 6-foot-10 American John Isner and his massive serve in the fourth round.

“The idea is not to use it very much against a player like that,” Federer said about his innovative and risky approach to attacking second serves, racing forward as the ball arrives to pluck it off the ground with what amounts to a half-volley. “I have done pretty well over the years against big servers, so, I mean, clearly I will think about it. But I don’t think that’s going to be the turning point of the match, to be quite honest. I need to make sure I protect my own serve first.”

No OT for Halep

Second-seeded Simona Halep made quick work of her third-round match.

Facing a qualifier who had never advanced this far at a major, Halep beat 154th-ranked American Shelby Rogers 6-2, 6-3 in 67 minutes.

Halep matched her deepest run at the U.S. Open, the only Grand Slam tournament at which she hasn’t reached at least the quarterfinals.

Young a fan-favorite

Donald Young is winning a lot of fans at the U.S. Open.

The American again came from behind, again backed by a raucous crowd as he rallied from two sets down to stun 22nd-seeded Viktor Troicki 4-6, 0-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-4 in 3 hours, 33 minutes to reach the fourth round.

“It was 90 percent you guys, 10 percent me,” he told the fans at the Grandstand in an on-court interview.

Another assist came from the trainer who “worked some magic” on his lower back after he failed to win a game in the second set.

“I was able to continue and fight,” Young said, “and somehow I was able to pull it out. I still don’t know how, but I’ll take it.”

Williams vs. Keys

It’s not that Madison Keys thinks Serena Williams’ bid for a true Grand Slam is not a compelling story line.

It’s just that the 20-year-old American is as eager to claim the U.S. Open championship as Williams is, of course – and, to do that, Keys must first win their fourth-round showdown in Arthur Ashe Stadium today.

So when Keys was asked how she would feel about being “remembered as the villain” in Williams’ “fairy tale,” the question drew a shrug.

“What am I going to say? ‘I want her to beat me?’ ” Keys replied. “I mean, yeah, I want to go out and I want to win. … I’d be OK with beating her, yeah.”