Roger Federer edged a little nearer to tennis immortality as he re-discovered his majestic touch to win a fifth consecutive US Open crown in front of 23,200 people as dusk descended on Arthur Ashe Stadium tonight.
Federer’s totally convincing 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Andy Murray made him the only person in history have won two Grand Slam titles on five successive occasions. The Swiss had won five Wimbledons before losing the best match of all time last July and now he has five on the trot here. Don’t bet too heavily against him making it six in twelve months time.
At the end it was not just a sense of pride that Federer felt but relief, too. Asked about all the questions he had to answer about his form all year, he replied, "I don’t think it got to me but I was aware of it. I’m a bit disappointed, sometimes a bit annoyed because all sorts of crazy people started writing and trying to reach me, telling me I needed help, either mentally or physically. It’s just a pain. For me, this sort of puts them to rest and calms down the phones at my parent’s a little bit which I’m happy about."
He needed to get that off his chest because it must have been very boring to be asked incessantly what is the matter with you when you are regularly reaching Grand Slam finals. As he said, if he had lost in four straight first rounds in Slams, then he would have had a point to prove. But that was never the case. "I can definitely go into the rest of the season more relaxed now, and then also looking forward with great spirits for next year."
I had suggested two weeks ago that winning the Olympic gold in doubles with Stanislav Wawrinka after losing in the singles might have given Federer just the fillip he needed coming into the US Open. And sure enough, he confirmed it.
"I was coming here happy being an Olympic champion," he said at the start of his press conference. "I think that’s really what made the big difference. If I wouldn’t have played doubles at the Olympics I would have come here with three sort of tough losses, you know. But with the gold in doubles, it really made me forget about it and just sort of enjoy this tournament."
He was complimentary about Murray, saying that Andy didn’t need to do much to take the next step and actually win a Slam. "No, not a whole lot," said Federer. "He’s got himself in better physical shape and I always thought he was a big match player. Give him the biggest court in the world and he will have no problem handling it. I think that is what he has shown throughout his career."
Murray was obviously disappointed that he did not push Federer harder but he took a very mature attitude to the situation.
"I wish I could have done a few things better and given myself a few more opportunities," he said. "But after a few days I am sure it will sink in that it’s obviously been a very good couple of weeks. I know mentally now that I can get to a Slam final. The only thing it comes down to is the tennis. You work harder, you know what things were breaking down; what things need to get better and you go and work on them."
The match was not as close as we had hoped because Murray was gripped by nerves at the beginning of his first Grand Slam final and then missed a split second chance to get right back into the match in the fifth game of the second set.
Federer had shot away to a 6-2, 2-0 lead before Murray started to get to grips with the occasion and his opponent. A brilliant forehand cross court service return after a couple of Federer errors gave him 0-40 on the Swiss serve in the third game and he duly broke when Roger netted a forehand volley.
At 2-2, Murray suddenly looked a different player and held to fifteen with a big first serve. The crowd, although behind Federer, obviously wanted to see a proper contest and the young Scot received a huge cheer. Momentarily losing concentration, Federer produced a couple of more errors as Murray started covering the court like he had against Rafael Nadal and it was 0-40 against the Federer serve for the second time in succession.
A furious rally ensued in which Federer hit the baseline twice – or did he? -- before Murray missed. Murray clearly saw that one of those Federer drives had missed the baseline but the man who had challenged too often and too recklessly against Juan Martin del Potro in the quarter finals decided to play on. When CBS replayed HawkEye the ball was shown clearly to have been two inches long.
It would be going to far to suggest that Murray would have gone on to win had he broken then to take a 3-2 lead. But there is little doubt that it would have been a different match because tennis is all about momentum and confidence. Murray had already thrown a road block in front of Federer’s momentum by breaking his serve to love and to have done so a second time would have switched the balance big time.
Afterwards Murray was asked if he thought there was a case for extending HawkEye’s use so that it would be used all the time on every shot. In words if a ball was long, it could bleep just like Cyclops does on the service line at Wimbledon.
"No, I mean I think it works pretty well as it is," Murray replied. "It’s just sometimes as a player is in the middle of a point, if there’s a shot very close to the line, especially on a big point, it’s rough to stop the point when you’re still in it, just to have a look."
Well, this was a huge point but the rules say that if you play on the chance to challenge is gone. And with that decision, Murray’s chance of creating an upset was virtually gone, too. To his credit, he didn’t want to make an issue of it, saying that he had other chances to break later in the set. In fact, he had 15-30 once and might have grabbed a couple more points off the Federer serve but by then the champion had recovered his equilibrium and was playing the kind of devastating all court game that only Feederer can play.
John Newcombe put his finger on Murray’s problem and it was a tactical one.
"Andy’s only chance was to take it toe to toe with Roger and he never did that," said the Australian. "Standing back as far as he did was just inviting Federer to come at him."
The strategy of standing way behind the baseline to receive the first serve had worked against Nadal because it nullified the Spaniard’s swinging leftie delivery. But that was less necessary against a right hander, even though Federer does serve harder than Nadal. All it meant was that Murray played too many of the strokes in the numerous long rallies from too far behind his baseline and, with more court to play with, Federer made hay.
It was threatening to become an embarrassment as the champion swept through the first five games of the third set almost unchallenged. But Murray got his act together just in time to remind us all of the wonderful tennis he has played here these past two weeks by holding serve and then breaking Federer for 2-5 with a brilliant off forehand winner.
But Federer was tasting victory by this time and no one was going to spoil the banquet. Murray saved the first match point with a sharp volley but desperate defence that had the Scot shoveling back balls at full stretch was never going to be enough to prevent Federer taking the second one and then collapsing with a scream of delight on the hard, fast cement that suits his game so well.
Maybe someone who studies these things for a living will be able to explain why men — or at least tennis players — seem to collapse in a heap on the ground at their moment of triumph while the women leap up and down as if on a pogo stick.
But then, as players and people, Roger Federer and Serena Williams don’t have too much in common. Except that they are popular and thoroughly deserving champions of this terrific 2008 US Open.
