NEW YORK -- Roger Federer sent something of a shock wave through the tennis world with what he thought was an obvious joke after improving to 18-0 in first-round matches at the US Open.
"I'm happy I never stumbled at the first hurdle," Federer said during his on-court interview Tuesday night. "Almost time to retire -- but not yet."
Some folks' reaction might best be summed up as: Wait, what?
Federer, 37, was asked at his news conference to clarify his comment after the 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over 117th-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Why did Federer mention retirement?
Turned out it was completely innocuous.
"That was meaning, like, 'I never lost a first-round match here at the Open. I won all my 18. You don't want that (loss) to happen next year.' I said, 'Maybe I could retire now, because I protect my 18 first-round wins here.' That's what I meant with it," he said. "It's a total joke, yes."
And, then, addressing all of the members of the media in the room, just to make absolutely sure everyone understood what he'd been thinking, Federer added with a smile: "So please don't read into it. Don't even write that word."
Against Nishioka, Federer delivered 14 aces and never was in any trouble.
Federer saved the first eight break points he faced before finally faltering by pushing a forehand long on the ninth, losing serve for the only time while trying to close out the match at 5-2 in the third set. By then, the match was 1 hour, 45 minutes old -- and it would last another seven minutes.
"Thankfully I wasn't too nervous tonight. I felt good. I felt like I had a good preparation week. No hiccups there. I think that settles my nerves there. When you do walk out onto Arthur Ashe, you feel like people are there to see the show, enjoy themselves. Sure, they come for the tennis, but it's also sort of a bucket list, wanting to be there," Federer said.
"So, yeah, there's pressure. But, no, never gets old," he added. "I love coming to play here. It's been so many years now."
The No. 2-seeded Federer is seeking his sixth title at the US Open, but first in a decade.
He could face No. 30 Nick Kyrgios in the third round and 13-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
Djokovic, who missed the US Open last year because of an elbow injury, made a winning return to Flushing Meadows earlier Tuesday, beating Marton Fucsovics in four sets.
It was a tough one, until Djokovic dominated after the players were allowed to leave the court for 10 minutes following the third and fourth sets. Once they returned, the No. 6 seed finished off a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 victory in 2 hours, 59 minutes.
Djokovic asked for a trash can during a break in the second set -- in case he became ill -- and was provided with several towels with ice for him to cool down. He revealed after the match that during the break between the third and fourth sets, the two competitors stripped down and took ice baths side by side in the locker room before resuming the match.
"It was funny," Djokovic said. "Marton and I had the ice baths, one next to the other. So we were in the two ice baths, we were naked in the ice baths, and it was quite a wonderful feeling, you know. Battling with a guy for 2½ hours and then you get into the locker room and you haven't finished the match and you're naked in the ice baths. It was quite a magnificent feeling, I must say."
Also on Tuesday, Frances Tiafoe earned his first US Open win on his fourth try -- and he eliminated a seeded player, to boot.
Tiafoe, 20, from Maryland, beat No. 29 Adrian Mannarino of France 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to get to the second round.
The 44th-ranked Tiafoe had lost in the first round in New York in each of the past three years, including against Federer in 2017.
Tiafoe is enjoying a breakthrough season in many ways, including a run to the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at Wimbledon, his first ATP title at Delray Beach and reaching a career-high 38th in the rankings.
In other first-round action, Kyrgios hit 25 aces -- and also had 14 double faults -- en route to a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Radu Albot.
When he was asked about some key break chances early in the match, Kyrgios explained that he approaches every point the same.
"I just come up to the line,'' Kyrgios said, "and try to serve it as hard as I can.''
In advance of a potential matchup in the third round, Kyrgios will need to beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert, and Federer will need to get past Benoit Paire.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.