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US Open crowd eagerly awaits Federer encore

Swiss showman Roger Federer treated the centre court audience to "the shot" on opening night, leaving US Open fans to wonder what he might do for an encore Thursday on Day Four of the year`s last grand slam.

New York: Swiss showman Roger Federer treated the centre court audience to "the shot" on opening night, leaving US Open fans to wonder what he might do for an encore Thursday on Day Four of the year`s last grand slam.
Five-times US champion Federer brought the house down with his back-to-the-net, between-the-legs winner against a dumbfounded Brian Dabul of Argentina in the first-round."The ovation was fantastic. The crowd went wild," Federer, the number two seed, said about his rifle shot that landed in the corner impossible to retrieve. "You could see on my reaction I couldn`t believe it." Germany`s Andreas Beck may be the next foil for Federer, who often dazzles opponents with his special flair. Federer and Beck play their second-round match in the last day match scheduled on Arthur Ashe centre court. Warming up the crowd ahead of Federer`s appearance will be top seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, last year`s women`s runner-up, who faces Chang Kai-chen of Taiwan.Russian Maria Sharapova, the 2006 champion, goes against Czech Iveta Benesova to open the night program ahead of third-seeded Serb Novak Djokovic`s contest against Philipp Petzschner of Germany. Djokovic, who once entertained the Flushing Meadows night crowd with imitations of celebrated players, said Federer`s between-the-legs shot was not part of his repertoire. "I am not as good as he is in that," Djokovic said, adding with a smile, "I`d like to be very careful with my racquet." Bureau Report