Federer Bags Half a Decade of U.S. Opens

The number one player in the world might be feeling a little nervous right about now. There's a new player who looks pretty good again and picked up his fifth U.S. Open in a row.
That would be Roger Federer, of course--the same Roger Federer famous this year for his awful year, as the tennis commentators have repeatedly described it. Yes, Federer should really hang his head in shame to pick up his 13th Grand Slam singles title, second only and just one shy of Sampras' record, and to have won a Gold medal in doubles. Andy Murray was complimented for reaching his first Grand Slam final. But Federer was all but written off as on the verge of checking into a retirement home for his shameful two Grand Slam final appearances and losses to Nadal at the French and Wimbledon earlier this year. And oh the ignominy of his semifinal loss at the Australian.
If Federer were new on the scene, right about now the buzz would be, look at this player on the rise. First, he finishes at the semis at the Australian, then he reaches the finals of the French and then he comes within a hair's breath of winning Wimbledon in one of the most competitive matches ever and finally wins a Grand Slam by year's end. Hey, this guy soon could be number one. Ya think?
But these days, nothing short of winning all four Grand Slams at the exact same time would be likely to impress the mainstream coverage of Federer. After he won the U.S. Open, the first words out of the commentator's mouth were, "With a disappointing year" blah, blah, blah. I expect tomorrow's headlines somewhere to have the word "redemption" in them. What malarkey. And what another fantastic year for Federer.
Serena returned to number one with her ninth Grand Slam singles title this year. Would anyone really be surprised if Federer again returned to number one? He certainly looked like it again with the trophy overhead, even as the coverage quickly dug out old footage of Sampras 14th Grand Slam victory--already the weird competition between a retired player and Federer (can he reach Sampras' record or break it? can he? can he?)--is afoot.
Federer looked so at ease throughout the final. I think that, like another similarly likeable champion Gustav Kuerten, Federer plays his best when he relaxes. And with a game like his, why shouldn't he be at ease?
It's been more than a few years now since Federer first fell to his knees in surprise when he beat Pete Sampras at a Grand Slam, and not even in the finals. It was nice to see him fall to his knees from joy again today, even if despite all of the ridiculous denigration of his accomplishments by the press this year, no one--not Roger, not the crowd and certainly not Andy Murray--was really all that surprised. Just a little more surprised then before last year's win, which may have been just enough to make it that much sweeter for the five-time U.S. Open champ.
Oh, and nice shirts this year too, Rog. Very fashionista.