Roger Federer says he is off to the perfect start at the US Open after cruising into the third round on Thursday with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Germany's 104th-ranked Andreas Beck.
Unthreatened in a pair of straight-set triumphs, the 16-time Grand Slam champion is doing exactly what he wants in his quest to reclaim he title after his five-year reign was ended by Juan Martin Del Potro in last year's final.
"It is the perfect start," Federer said. "I played Monday, had two days off, I had another easy one physically and here I am in the third round feeling like I'm completely in the tournament," Federer said.
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"I've got a sense for how the court speed is again. I've got the sense of the crowd and the wind now as well. I played one night, one day. I have all the answers after two matches."
Swiss second seed Federer, seeking his seventh consecutive US Open final, will face 109th-ranked Paul-Henri Mathieu to decide a berth in the last 16 on the Flushing Meadows hardcourts.
If Federer does get to the final again, he would love to face world number one Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard who won this year's Wimbledon and French Open titles. They have met in every other Grand Slam final except in New York.
"This guy can play well on the hardcourts and I expect him to make a push this year, Federer said. "I would love to play him here."
Conserving energy by not being pushed too long in early matches is something Federer is pleased about.
"Obviously they weren't the most difficult matches," he said. "I didn't have to save multiple breakpoints or whatever. Even though I got broken today I feel really good. Tougher matches will be coming up now. I underestimate nobody."
Robin Soderling, the Swedish fifth seed who ousted Federer at Roland Garros to end the 29-year-old Swiss star's run of 23 consecutive trips to Grand Slam semi-finals, is a possible quarter-final foe.
But that round remains two triumphs away.
"Body is well. Mentally obviously I'm fresh, too. I haven't played too much, so I'm really eager," Federer said. "I'm ready for tough matches coming around. It's good I'm saving myself, really, and my game is fine."
In some ways, Federer finds it easier to handle tough matches now than when he was younger.
"Now it's almost easier to handle tougher matches just because you know what your body can take," Federer said. "You know what's just muscle pain, what's more injuries, what's tiredness.
"When you're younger, that kind of hits you like a truck and all of a sudden you realize you have no more energy and mentally it's a big push when you're young. I think today it's much easier to cope with that."
