Roger Federer reached a breaking point at the United States Open on Friday. It did not happen on the court, where he played his best match of the tournament so far, blasting Dan Evans of Britain off the court just 80 minutes into their third-round encounter.

Nor was it related to his first two matches of the tournament, when Federer played poorly and had little explanation afterward.

What set him off on Friday and caused him to swear in a news conference, abandoning his usually impeccable decorum, was a suggestion that he is able to dictate the timing of his matches. He said he could only offer his preferences to the schedule makers.

“But that doesn’t mean, ‘Roger asks, Roger gets,’” Federer said, then added: “I’m sick and tired of it, that apparently I call the shots. The tournament and the TV stations do.”