Roger Federer sweeps Andy Murray for fifth U.S. Open title
TENNIS
Federer wins U.S. Open final to rewrite records and take his 13th major title, one short of tying Pete Sampras for most men's Grand Slam tournament titles.
NEW YORK -- The grand arc of Roger Federer's tennis career, stalled somewhat through the first three Grand Slam tournaments of 2008, resumed its upward tack Monday when he summoned his repertoire and sapped the drama out of a U.S. Open final.
Federer's 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 victory over first-time Grand Slam tournament finalist Andy Murray of Scotland loosed a barrage of edits to the tennis record books.
It made Federer the first player with five consecutive U.S. Open titles since Bill Tilden won six from 1920 through 1925. It made Federer the first player to win five consecutive titles at two Grand Slam tournaments because he had won five straight Wimbledon titles from 2003 through 2007. It gave Federer 13 Grand Slam titles, halving his deficit behind Pete Sampras' record 14. It gave Federer 34 straight wins in Queens.
Perhaps most poignantly, it gave Federer one Grand Slam title in 2008, and thus one that might quickly climb his rankings of most cherished.
Battling mononucleosis but not mentioning it, Federer lost an Australian Open semifinal this year to Novak Djokovic in three sets. Come Roland Garros in June, he took a blasting so uncommon in a French Open final against Rafael Nadal that he won only four games and had Paris feeling sorry for him. At Wimbledon, Nadal edged Federer in a storybook Wimbledon final that went five hours and five sets and 9-7 in the fifth.
All along, as he lost 12 matches to nine different players and struggled during the hard-court season, dropping an Olympic quarterfinal to James Blake, Federer dealt with the world's acknowledgment of his fresh imperfections while winning only two titles before the U.S. Open.
So after a frenetic final point on which Federer, 27, menaced at the net as Murray, 21, scampered around using his uncommon court coverage until finally Federer hit an overhead that Murray couldn't quite squeeze back, Federer sank to his knees and rolled around on the New York concrete.
"This is a very special moment in my career," he said in an on-court interview afterward.
His 34th consecutive U.S. Open match victory since a fourth-round loss to David Nalbandian in 2003 began much as had his maestro's semifinal victory over Djokovic. Federer swept through the first set like some gorgeous storm, knocking in 76% of his first serves and allowing Murray only five points in four return games.
When Murray, Nadal's conqueror in the semifinal, mounted resistance in the second set, reeling off seven consecutive points on Federer's serve at one juncture, the brand-new No. 4 player in the world almost went a service break ahead. Midway through a 14-shot rally at 15-40 on Federer's serve in what was then a 2-2 game, Federer creamed a forehand long, but the linesperson didn't see it, even though the Hawk-Eye technology did.
Murray continued playing, though, Federer took the point and the game, and they stayed on serve until Murray served at 5-6 to try to stay in the set. He got no points in that game as Federer camped out around the net and wound up hitting four winners for the set, and then yelled out joyously, sensing his resurgence would be unstoppable.
