Federer Hurt by Serve in Bid to Match Agassi as Champ at 32

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Roger Federer entered the U.S. Open with his lowest seeding since 2002, hitting fewer aces and struggling with service returns as he tries to add to the lone Grand Slam championship he has won in the past 3 1/2 years.

Federer’s ace production in major tennis tournaments has declined to 7.7 percent of serves this year from 12.4 percent in 2009. Opponents have aced him on 8.1 percent of serves this year, up from 4.7 percent in 2011’s majors, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Sports.