US Open 2017: Roger Federer beats Mikhail Youzhny in five sets to reach third round

Having been taken the distance in his first-round encounter by teenager Frances Tiafoe, 36-year-old Federer was again forced to do it the hard way against fellow veteran Youzhny.

The 35-year-old Russian had recovered from a set down to take a shock 2-1 lead, but five-time US Open winner Federer dug deep to force a decider.

It was the first time in Federer's career that he had gone to five sets in his opening two matches of a Grand Slam, in what is his 71st appearance in a major.

And the Swiss drew on all that experience to grind down a weary Youzhny in the final set, sealing it with a smash to huge cheers from the Arthur Ashe crowd.

Feliciano Lopez awaits Federer in the third round, with the Spaniard out to cause an upset after beating compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-1.

Federer was guilty of a sluggish start in his first-round match against Tiafoe, but he raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set as the world number 101 struggled on serve.

The 19-time Grand Slam champion squandered two opportunities to bagel the Russian, but he sealed the opening set a game later after just 27 minutes.

Youzhny then broke early in the second set, but Federer responded with two of his own to take the advantage.

However, Federer failed to serve out for the set as Youzhny converted just his second break point opportunity of the match.

The set then headed to a tie-break, and while it was 3-3 at the changeover, Youzhny went on to win the next four points to level the match at 1-1.

Youzhny carried on that momentum into the third set, breaking Federer in the fifth game before seeing out the remainder unscathed.

Federer entered the fourth set with 44 unforced errors to his name, but he rallied to break Youzhny in the fourth game.

The Russian appeared to be struggling for fitness, but he broke back when the Swiss was serving for the set at 5-3.

Federer rallied in the next game however, bringing up a first set point on the Youzhny serve, and though he failed to convert the first opportunity, he made no mistake at the second time of asking.

Youzhny had cramp as well as a Grand Slam champion to contend with in the deciding set, and it proved a challenge too far for the one-time world number eight, as Federer broke in the sixth game before closing it out after three hours and 11 minutes on court.