For five years Roger Federer has played a type of tennis that has thrilled the world. If it were up to his peers, with Andy Murray foremost among them, there would be no question that Federer should be regarded as the best player ever.
His 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 US Open final victory over Murray came at the end of what has been an awkward year, and the majority of those in the Arthur Ashe Stadium were happy to see him replicate the form that has seen him win the title at Flushing Meadows every year since 2004.
Some viewed it as redemption, though the Swiss was not keen on that explanation.
”I don’t feel like I needed this win to prove myself,” he said. ”I don’t think I’m at that point any more.”
All arguments about whether Federer is the greatest player hinge on Rod Laver and Pete Sampras. It is clear that the Swiss will never imitate Laver’s record of twice winning all four Majors in the same year.
As for Sampras’s all-time record of 14 Slam wins, Federer is one short of equalising it, and has proved himself a better player on clay. It has been his misfortune, however, to be playing at the same time as Rafael Nadal, who may prove to be the greatest clay-court player of all time.
Federer has not won the French Open title, leaving an elite five who have won all four Majors — Laver, fellow Australian Roy Emerson, Don Budge of the United States, Britain’s Fred Perry and, most recently, Andre Agassi.
Of course, nothing lasts forever. There was concern before this win over Murray that the best of Federer was in the past. No one was sure how much a bout of glandular fever had affected him earlier in the year when he lost to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open.
His defeat by Nadal in the French Open and at Wimbledon highlighted his struggles. Then came the quarterfinal defeat by James Blake in Beijing, a player whom Federer had beaten eight times out of eight.
Small wonder, then, that his defence of the title at Flushing Meadows was seen to be under threat.
Yet, in the middle of his troubles, he won the Olympic doubles gold medal with fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka.
”It really made me forget about the losses and enjoy this tournament [US Open],” Federer said. He had a tough five-set match against Russia’s Igor Andreev, but the old Federer began to emerge against Djokovic in the semifinals. The light was turned back on and against a drained Murray Federer was at his best, becoming the only player to win five consecutive Slams at two different Majors.
”I would have been disappointed losing against Andy,” he said. ”It would have felt like missing an entire year, being so close but yet so far. Semis and finals don’t help me a whole lot any more in my career.
”It’s all about the wins, and that’s why this is huge, this is massive.” —