Roger Federer was always going to occupy a prominent position in tennis's hall of fame even if 2008 turned into a barren year for Switzerland's finest sporting ambassador. Now he has added the extra dimension of character to his array of other star qualities and is in line to climb above the great Rod Laver and the American legend Pete Sampras to become the best of the best. Federer was virtually written off by many tennis enthusiasts when he arrived in New York to defend the US Open championship he had won for the previous four years. Two grand slam final defeats by Rafael Nadal and another in the Australian Open semi-finals by Novak Djokovic encouraged suggestions that his magnificent career had reached its peak and his powers over the rest of the world were on the wane. Defying his critics in such brilliant fashion to retain his Flushing Meadows crown provided the best possible riposte to his growing army of doubters. Britain's Andy Murray, who had performed heroically, especially in the semi-finals against Nadal, to reach his first major final, had no answer to Federer's devastating display and was swept off court 6-2 7-5 6-2 in under two hours. It was Federer's 13th grand slam title, taking him to within one of Sampras's all-time record. Laver would almost certainly have won more had he not turned professional at a time when the main tour was for amateur players. A slight weakness on European clay, which has prevented him winning Roland Garros, means it is unlikely that Federer will emulate Laver's feat of winning all four grand slams in the same year. The Australian did that as an amateur in 1962 and then again in 1969 at the start of the Open era - but the Swiss can point out that rivalry during his own four-year supremacy of the world game was more intense than it was in Laver's heyday. Sampras's record of 14 slams is more attainable, especially if Federer maintains the resurgence of form that enabled him to remain the king of New York for another year. The Australian Open in January, Wimbledon six months later and next year's US Open defence provide the Swiss with realistic opportunities to equal and then surpass that mark. Federer was particularly pleased that his latest major honour came after losing his cherished world No 1 ranking to his Spanish rival Nadal. "To bounce back straightaway after losing the top ranking, this is the best scenario ever," he said. "This is a very special moment in my career. It means the world to me." The unexpectedly routine victory over Murray, whose sparkling recent form has brought about a climb to fourth in the rankings, made Federer the first man in history to win five successive titles at two different grand slams. "Just keeping the streak like I did at Wimbledon is something I'm very happy about," he said. Beating the dangerous Murray so convincingly helped atone for Federer's two mid-summer disappointments - a thrashing by Nadal in the Roland Garros final and an agonising final-set defeat by the Spaniard in the Wimbledon final. He reflected: "I think the French Open loss was brutal, but I got over that one pretty easily and played great on the grass and had a really tough loss at Wimbledon. I was proud to be part of such a great match, but at the same time it made me sad not having won that great epic match." Federer admitted that the constant speculation about his form and state of mind irritated him. "I'm a bit disappointed about that," he said. Sometimes to the point where I was a bit annoyed. All sorts of crazy people started writing to me and trying to reach me, telling me I need some help either mentally or physically. It's just a pain. "This win puts them to rest a little bit, and calms down the phones at my parents' a little bit, which I'm happy about." Similarly to the way Federer notched his fifth successive Wimbledon title last year, he received a crucial helping hand by the weather. Nadal had played catch-up in the rain-affected bottom half of the draw at the All England Club 14 months ago and that eventually told when the Spaniard went into the final set of the final against the holder, who had played most of his matches on schedule. Last weekend, Federer completed his semi-final victory over Novak Djokovic before the severe storm warning materialised and then watched in comfort as his potential final opponents battled it out over two days. The euphoria of Murray's significant victory over Nadal had not died down by the time the young Scot walked out for the final and he was unable to recapture the form that had seen him overcome Federer in two of their previous three meetings, notably in Dubai in March. Federer needed only 26 minutes to capture the opening set and after taking a more competitive second set with a break in the 12th game, he raced to a 5-0 lead in the third before Murray, whose movement was hampered by a slight knee problem, achieved a second service break of the match to make the scoreline more respectable.
wjohnson@thenational.ae
