Federer arrived at Flushing Meadows in 2008 ranked No. 2, not No. 1. He arrived with — gasp! — zero Grand Slam titles for the season, having lost to Rafael Nadal in finals at the French Open (a blowout) and Wimbledon (a heartbreaker). He arrived to a chorus of questions about whether Nadal had surpassed him for good.
U.S. Open spectators rallied to Federer’s side, cheering for him as if he were an underdog — rather than the man who would depart with the champion’s trophy for the fifth year in a row.
“I was really blown away. I thought that was so cool,” Federer said in an interview with The Associated Press. “It was like they said: ’We have to support our man here, because he needs to come back to where he belongs.’ It was like they wanted to push me back to the top. Winning the U.S. Open was sort of the jump start.”
Yes, as this year’s last Grand Slam tournament starts Monday, Federer is back.
Starting with his victory in New York, Federer has won three of the past four major tournaments to raise his career total to 15 Grand Slam championships, breaking Pete Sampras’ record. He is ranked No. 1 again.
And there’s been more good news off the court: He’s now married and a father — of twins, no less.
“You change, all of a sudden,” Federer said, snapping his fingers, “from needing nine hours of sleep, to saying, ’Five is plenty.”’
As Federer-the-father bids to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win three consecutive major championships in a single season, and the first since Bill Tilden in 1920-25 to win six straight titles at the American Grand Slam tournament, it’s his nemesis, Nadal, who looks to be in need of a boost.
It’s Nadal who recently relinquished the No. 1 ranking; he’s now at No. 3. It’s Nadal whose 31-match winning streak at the French Open ended. It’s Nadal who did not defend his Wimbledon title, citing sore knees.
Nadal returned to the tour this month, but he acknowledges he’s not in peak condition.
“You never know. You never know,” said Nadal, who needs a U.S. Open title to complete a career Grand Slam. “We will see how I am physically.”
Federer’s take? “He’s downplaying his chances, which is very Rafa-like,” Federer said. “I understand. He has to be cautious.”
U.S. Open
Aug. 30-Sept. 13Interactive: Top contenders to watchAustin: Federer looking difficult to beatAustin: Serena's too mentally tough to topSerena can match King with 12th Slam titleRoddick calls officials' Twitter warning 'lame'Nadal not in peak condition heading into Open Video: Roddick says U.S. tennis on the riseSlide show: Past men's championsSlide show: Past women's championsInteractive: Building the perfect tennis player But Federer also thought he noticed something else bothering the Spaniard — a stomach muscle injury.“He looked a bit hurt in his abdominal last week, I have to say ... and already prior to that,” Federer said Thursday as he munched on pretzels in midtown Manhattan. “I don’t know how that’s going to affect him now. You’re not only talking about the knees, but also the abdominal.”
There are other men in the mix, to be sure.
Andy Murray, for example, is ranked No. 2 and hoping to win one more match at the U.S. Open than he did in 2008, when he reached his first major final.
“I was close last year,” Murray said, “and I think I’m playing better now.”
Andy Roddick, the 2003 champion, is a new man, with a trimmer physique, a more varied game and the confidence that comes with a strong run at Wimbledon — even if it did end disappointingly for the American with a 16-14 loss to Federer in the longest fifth set in Grand Slam final history.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia seems likely to add to his lone Grand Slam title one day. There are others who play well on hard courts, such as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France or Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina.
But right now, men’s tennis comes down to the pair known as Rog and Rafa: One or the other has won 16 of the last 17 major championships. They played each other in seven of those finals.
“When he’s on, obviously he’s one of the toughest guys to beat out there. He’s one of the big favorites next to me, in my personal opinion,” Federer said. “But that is only if he’s healthy, and we’ll only know after a couple of matches played here. I hope he comes back strong, of course. I love the rivalry.”
No woman really seems to rival Serena Williams when it comes to major tournaments lately.
Like Federer, she is the defending champion at the U.S. Open.
Nadal training again after knee injury layoffKeirrison open to Roma loan
