'Pretty dead': Roger Federer slams US Open after ugly career first

Roger Federer has slammed the US Open court after starting slowly for the second match in a row in his Round 2 clash with Damir Dzhumhur.

The five-times champion came back again from a set down, beating Damir Dzhumhur 3-6 6-2 6-3 6-4 on Wednesday to reach the third round of the year's final grand slam.

During a rain affected day, the covered conditions were no help at the start to Federer, though he couldn't quite explain why.

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"I don't have an answer to you," he said. "It's just poor ball striking in the beginning."

But he then went on to criticise the speed of the US Open hard court this year, likening to clay.

“I’m really disappointed about the surface here: it’s like to play on clay,” Federer said.

“It’s hard court, but the ball is not even bouncing. It’s a pretty dead court in some ways. I do believe it’s slower than it has [been] in previous years.

“I’m not sure if it’s the balls or the speed of the court, but it’s definitely not on the faster side.

“This was like an indoor match so it’s great for ball striking, for big servers.”

Federer must defy history

In more bad omens for Federer, no player has dropped the opening set in his first two matches and won the US Open title since the challenge round was abolished in 1912, according to the ATP.

Third-seeded Federer had a night match on Monday and dropped the first set to qualifier Sumit Nagal before he won in four sets.

With AAP