Federer wins 5th straight Open, 13th major title (Associated Press)

The handwritten letters and the e-mails, the care packages and — get this — the instructional DVDs began reaching Roger Federer early in the season, after a bout of mononucleosis precipitated the end of his streak of 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals.

The volume increased after Federer lost the French Open and Wimbledon finals. From all around the world they arrived, some to his parents' house in Switzerland, some to his agent, some to his hotels. They came from retired players and from current coaches, from doctors, from fans. They offered good wishes, medical advice, even tennis advice.

Everyone figured Federer needed help, and everyone figured they knew how to help.

Turns out Federer was just fine. Turns out he still knew how to win a major tournament. He proved that Monday night, easily beating Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 to win a fifth consecutive U.S. Open championship and 13th Grand Slam title overall.

"I felt like I was invincible for a while again," said Federer, the only man in tennis history to win five straight titles at two major events.

He moved within one Grand Slam title of tying Pete Sampras' record of 14.

"I always knew that if I were to get one Slam under my belt, especially the last one, things weren't looking that bad, like everybody was talking about," Federer said. "I didn't feel I was under pressure to prove myself in trying to win here, but this definitely feels very sweet."


All-time great Federer has grit and brilliance (newsday.com)



It had been 12 parched months since Roger Federer won his last major title, a drought in which even his undeniable high moments clunked to some uncharacteristically dry finishes that, if nothing else, raised questions about where his talent as the best closer in tennis history had gone. But it was all coming back to Federer on the floor of Arthur Ashe Stadium - especially how to squeeze and squeeze the guy across the net like a python might until he'd wrung all the life out of 21-year-old Scotsman Andy Murray in this U.S. Open final. By the second set, Murray started to sag as if his will was crumbling, like he was fighting to merely slog on.


Yet even though the Swiss star won the Open for a fifth straight time, this year also required something more from him. And he knew it.

"This is a very special moment in my career," he said.

Federer long ago established himself as one of the greatest stylists, shotmakers and strategists tennis has ever seen. And his class and sportsmanship are beyond reproach. But until this year, Federer had never had to prove what a down-and-dirty fighter he could be. That's what was so special about his title run here this year. Since rising to No. 1 in the world in 2004, Federer had never had to absorb the sort of body blows that knocked him down this year and left him staring at some soul-searching questions.

How hard was he willing to fight back at age 27, with $41 million in prize money already in the bank? How determined was he to recapture all that had been taken away from him just weeks before this tournament by Rafael Nadal, a bullish Spaniard who is five years younger and was suddenly arm-wrestling Federer for every major in 2008 and, for the first time in 4½ years, snapping Federer's grip on the world No. 1 ranking.

It was a lot of setbacks for any champion to take. And we haven't even mentioned how the year started for Federer, with mononucleosis that compromised his fitness long after his January run to the Australian Open semis. He lost to nine different opponents this spring and summer, some of them bona fide stars but far too many of them not.

Nadal finally broke Federer's record streak of 237 weeks at No. 1 in mid-August. Before that he ran Federer off the court in the French Open final, then snapped his chance to make history at Wimbledon by denying him a sixth straight title, winning the sort of epic final that Federer always used to win.

But Federer not only picked himself up during this two-week U.S. Open. He got up throwing haymakers. The way he dismissed Murray, ranked No. 4 and a better player than he showed yesterday, was remarkable, yet familiar to see.

Murray was making his debut in a major singles final. And in what turned out to be the last game of the second set, Federer schooled the new kid on how swiftly - and fatally - big matches like these can pivot and squirt away.

Federer led 6-5, with Murray serving to force a tiebreaker. But from the outset, Federer's determination to kill any pretension Murray had of staying in the match was glaring. Suddenly, Federer picked up the pace, lunging toward every shot Murray hit at him, slugging the ball back deep and taking the net or forcefully moving Murray all over the court during rallies. Murray couldn't fend him off.

Federer, sensing both the moment and the opportunity, seemed to surprise Murray with his aggressiveness. By the time Murray realized what was going on, Federer had broken his serve and taken the second set by racing in to jump on a drop shot that Murray tried and smacking a winner past him at the net.

Federer screamed. Murray sagged. And it was pretty much over after that.

Federer and his supporters can now complain about how he was doubted and they can window dress his year any way they want. But this year was different for Federer all right. Not awful, necessarily - just different. And what Federer had to prove here will only add to his legend.

He's not just a beautiful player to watch. His story just got better. He's as tough and driven as champions come.


Federer Express back on track with US Open title (Inquirer.net)


Roger Federer showed detractors and devoted fans alike that he still has the skill to win a Grand Slam title, his fifth US Open title in a row serving notice to all that his best might be yet to come.

Federer erased the disappointments of French Open and Wimbledon final losses to Rafael Nadal and the Spaniard's swiping of his world number one ranking last month by beating Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 in Monday's US Open final.

"I didn't feel I was under pressure to prove myself," Federer said. "But it does feel sweet and I think it's the key for this season."

The 27-year-old Swiss superstar captured his 13th Grand Slam title, one shy of Pete Sampras' all-time record, and became the first man to win two Slams five times in a row, having completed the feat at Wimbledon last year.

"I'm quite proud of my achievement," Federer said. "It has been a tough summer. The French Open loss was brutal but I got over that one pretty easily."

What ripped into Federer was Nadal's 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-7 (8/10), 9-7 victory in an epic Wimbledon final. Suddenly the man who had dominated tennis for five years was defeated in one of the greatest matches ever played.

“I was proud to be part of such a great match but at the same time, it just sort of made me sad not having won that great epic match. I was always dreaming about it and then not winning it,” he said.

“I lost quite a few matches I should never have lost and they hurt. Now getting the fifth US Open, it really means a lot to me. To bounce back straight away after losing the number one ranking, this is the best scenario ever,” he said.


U.S. Open | Roger Federer's trophy collection grows (seattletimes.nwsource.com)


As befits a cosmopolitan man of the world, Roger Federer owns homes all over: Oberwil, Switzerland; Wimbledon, England; Flushing Meadows.

Who would argue that Arthur Ashe Stadium does not belong to Federer in the aftermath of his fifth consecutive U.S. Open championship?

In a men's final that made up in historical appeal what it lacked in drama, Federer disposed of Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 Monday to become the first man to win five titles in a row at the U.S. Open and at Wimbledon.

Federer is the first man in the Open era to win the U.S. Open five consecutive years; Bill Tilden won the U.S. championships six times in a row in the 1920s.

It was Federer's 13th major championship. American Pete Sampras won 14 majors, more than any male, in his career.

"One thing's for sure," Federer said in an on-court interview. "I'm not going to stop at 13. That would be terrible."

Terribly unlucky, that is, which sums up the first eight months of Federer's 2008 season.

At the Australian Open, he lost in the semifinals while battling an illness that turned out to be mononucleosis. He lost in the final of the French Open and Wimbledon to a surging Rafael Nadal, who last month ended Federer's 4-½-year stay at No. 1 in the world.

For perhaps any other player, Federer's run in the Grand Slams would be called resplendent.

But because Federer had held the tennis world up like a 21st-century Atlas, people openly wondered what was wrong with him.

On Monday came the answer: Absolutely nothing.