Federer Is First $50 Million Man

World No. 1 Roger Federer became the first player in history to surpass $50 million in career prize money after defeating American rookie Devin Britton 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 Monday at the US Open. The Swiss earned $31,000 for the first-round win, adding to his $49,977,919 total prize money coming into Flushing Meadows.

Wild card recipient Britton, making just his second tour-level appearance, went up a break against the five-time defending champion in both the second and third sets only to see Federer erase the deficit each time in the following game. The experienced Swiss closed out the victory with another break of serve as he hit a winner past the 18 year old on match point.

Britton, the 2009 NCAA men’s singles champion from the University of Mississippi, said about his short-lived advantage in the second set: "I was pretty excited after the break, and I got broken at Love. I think I lost 13, 14 straight points after that. I was just excited, and the nerves came back a little bit. I was thinking, I'm up a break; this is awesome. Then it only lasted about 30 seconds." He later added, "It was probably the best seconds of my life."

"He did play I think really well," said Federer. "He had some very good spells, and I had to make sure from my side that I stayed with him and come back because I was down a break in the second and in the third. So it was good to still get through in three sets."

Federer is bidding to claim a record-tying sixth straight US Open title this fortnight, a feat accomplished by Bill Tilden from 1920-25, and has now won 35 straight matches at Flushing Meadows (46-4 overall). He has been in formidable form since mid-May, compiling a 27-1 record and four titles – including his triumphs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

The 28 year old asserted that his motivation remained the same despite becoming the all-time Grand Slam title leader at Wimbledon: "I like being the winner of any tournament in the world. That's why when I enter: I try to win it. If I don't, okay. I walk away. I know tennis is not everything, so it's not a problem. But if I enjoy playing tennis, why should I stop just because I've beaten the all time Grand Slam record? That's not what tennis is all about."

The Swiss will next meet German Simon Greul, who battled to a 6-3, 4-6, 3-6, 6-0, 7-6(9) win over Ecuadorian qualifier Giovanni Lapentti. The 28-year-old Greul had posted his first win at a Grand Slam tournament earlier this year as a qualifier at Wimbledon (d. Yani, l. to Djokovic).

Federer’s countryman, qualifier Marco Chiudinelli, was the first player through to the second round at the 2009 US Open as he defeated Italian Potito Starace 7-6(3), 7-6(2), 6-0. Chiudinelli, who ranked a career-high No. 129 in January 2005, reached the third round at the US Open on his Grand Slam debut three years ago (l. to Gasquet).

Chiudinelli next faces Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who accounted for 26th-seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 2-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-2. Youzhny also achieved his best Grand Slam showing at this tournament in 2006, posting upset wins over three seeded Spaniards – including World No. 2 Rafael Nadal – before losing to Andy Roddick in the semi-finals.

Eighth seed Nikolay Davydenko had no problems getting by German Dieter Kindlmann in his opening match, converting five of his 11 break point chances to close out a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 win. Davydenko, a two-time US Open semi-finalist, takes a 4-2 head-to-head record into his next match against Czech Jan Hernych, a five-set winner over German Rainer Schuettler.

Roland Garros finalist and No. 12 seed Robin Soderling fired 18 aces and dropped just seven points behind his first serve to beat Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. The 25-year-old Swede will look to match his best US Open showing – a third round result in 2005 – when he next faces another Spaniard, Marcel Granollers, who rallied for a 2-6, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 win over German Mischa Zverev.

Spaniards Tommy Robredo and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez set a second-round clash courtesy of opening wins over qualifiers. The 14th-seeded Robredo defeated American Donald Young 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, and Garcia-Lopez topped Canadian Peter Polansky 6-4, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 6-1.