Federer feels like himself again

NEW YORK -- That was more like it.

More like the genius we're used to. More like sweet-swinging artiste we've come to know.

"I definitely had that feeling out there today which I had quite often in the past," Roger Federer said, following a dismissal of Novak Djokovic that launched him into the U.S. Open finals for the fifth straight time.

He said this while sitting at a table hunched over a microphone, typically understated. But on this day, there was nothing understated about his game. For the first time this tournament, for the first time in months, Roger Federer looked like his old self.

Opening point, the crowd still settling under the dark clouds of Saturday morning, Federer rocked back, cocked his arm and fired an ace. This would be a harbinger in the rematch of last year's final.

He was flawless in the first set, his white Nikes skimming the green pavement behind the baseline, his ground strokes struck with precision and power. Twenty-five minutes after it started, the first set was his: 6-3.

True, Djokovic tied the match by winning a tough second set. But with the third set tied, 5-5, Federer upped the ante again, starting matters with a flowing backhand pass that caused the fans to go apoplectic with delight.

Throughout this tournament it has been clear that Federer, after finally showing some cracks in the veneer, is more beloved by fans than ever. Now they stirred, hopeful the four-time champ would find a way to break open this match.

Break point came quickly. Djokovic served. A scrambling point ensued. When Federer roped a backhand that his opponent pushed long, he was in command. One game later, the third set was his, 7-5, and it seemed like every last soul in Arthur Ashe Stadium rose as one, ecstatic.

Federer once described the feeling he gets while reeling off batches of games in quicksilver fashion as being akin to flying. Recently, we have seen him fly less often.

But on Saturday, he took to the sky again. In the fourth set, he let loose with three aces in the opening game. Soon after, he struck one of the hardest, flattest, surest backhands in recent memory.

Next came a flurry of passing shots and mad scramble returns and a drop shot hit from just inside the baseline that fluttered over the net.

Djokovic was reduced to moping along, stuck a few feet behind the baseline. He helplessly watched as Federer screamed a forehand winner to take the match: 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.