John Jeansonne's aces & faults

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Roger Federer's back-to-the-net, between-the-legs winner against Brian Dubal on Monday night. Federer did the same thing against Novak Djokovic here last year, but that didn't make it any less rare or spectacular.

LETFederer's best shot ever? He referred questioners to a YouTube compilation of his greatest hits.

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Djokovic, asked if he saw the latest Federer magic on TV, said, "No. [Pause.] I've seen it live," he said.

FAULT

What could have been worse, Djokovic said, is that his opponent Tuesday, fellow Serb Viktor Troicki, "tried to do the same thing. I said, 'No, no, please miss it. Please don't embarrass me again.' "

By the numbers

30.1 Celsius. The temperature (86 Fahrenheit) at which the Grand Slam's "extreme weather policy" kicks in, allowing players in women's singles a 10-minute break after the second and third sets. (The men may ask for "appropriate medical timeouts.")

96 Fahrenheit temperature on the tennis center grounds at 3:20 p.m.

109 Fahrenheit temperature on the Arthur Ashe Stadium court at 3:20 p.m.

Furthermore . . .

Men's No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal plays lefthanded. The last lefthanded man to win the Open was John McEnroe, in 1984, and the last lefthanded finalist was Greg Rusedski, who lost to Patrick Rafter in 1997. The last lefthanded woman to win was Monica Seles, in 1992. She also was the last lefthanded finalist, in 1996, when she lost to Steffi Graf.