Legends of US Open: Roger Federer

It was that time of the year for Roger Federer when he found nothing working for him. The back to back defeats that he had to confront in the French open and Wimbledon (both coming at the hands of his nemesis Rafael Nadal) and his fall from the No.1 ranking for the first time in 237 weeks, proved to be more than a vivid indication of the possible end of his hey days.

So, with only a couple of minor titles under his belt in 2008, when the Swiss Maestro proceeded to New York, hoping to have a final shot at the last Grand Slam of the season – where he was a four time champion before – he was hardly expected to defend his crown successfully.

The slump in form which he was suffering from was completely visible in his fourth round match against Igor Andreev of Russia, which he could only pull off by a whisker. But the champion that he was, struck form at the right moment as he humbled the previous year runner-up, Novak Djokovic, in a four setter semifinal to reach the final for the fifth year in a row at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Luckily for Federer, the Spanish southpaw, who had been tormenting him throughout the year, was ousted in another semifinal by British No.1 Andy Murray, who, in the process, reached his maiden Grand Slam final. It was just the sort of contest that the Swiss star needed to get back on the winning track and as always, he did not disappoint. In one of the most lopsided finals ever witnessed at Flushing Meadows, he clinched an unprecedented fifth straight US open title in an authoritative fashion by beating the 21-year old 6-2 7-5 6-2.

The king reigned supreme yet again in Flushing Meadows. By winning his fifth major in New York, which was also his 13th Grand Slam title overall, he joined the likes of Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras, to have achieved this feat in the Open era. However, what separated him from the rest was – while the two Americans were able to do it in different sets of years, the Swiss master turned it on in five straight years. So, Roger Federer, without a doubt, is the greatest men’s singles champion in the US Open, in terms of his achievements.

He continued his great run here in the hard courts of Flushing Meadows by reaching the final in the following year too, which was his sixth final on the trot. Since then, he might have performed sluggishly, failing to reach even the final, let alone winning it, but the fact of the matter is that he has done enough to go down in history as the greatest ever to have competed here. More so, his straight sets loss against the 19th seed Robredo, four days ago, could not have come at a worse time for him, with questions being raised now about his future.

No one knows if he would ever come back strong or not, but all we have now at our disposal is his incredible past, the resplendencies of which will forever remain etched in our memory. Let us for now re-live some of the greatest moments of the Swiss Master in Flushing Meadows, starting from his first ever triumph in 2004.

2004 – Maestro off the mark:

The year 2004 had been a magical one for the Swiss, who, even before entering the glamour slam, already had two Majors in his pocket – the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Barring a minor blip in the French open, where he did not even make it to the quarterfinals, he was having a great year on the whole. So, stepping into the year’s final Grand Slam as a clear favourite to win it, more so as the World No.1, he did full justice to his credibility. Playing some tight four setters and a five setter on the way, he bulldozed the former champion Lleyton Hewitt, inflicting a double bagel on him in the final. Federer went on to win the match and the championship 6-0 7-6 (3) 6-0.

2005- Humbling a veteran

Roger Federer, by the time the US Open had begun, was already started to be viewed by many former players and experts as one of the greatest ever to play the game. Aiming for the sixth Grand Slam title of his career, he had to find his way past some big names and once again as a favourite, he faced little problems in dispelling them all. While Lleyton Hewitt was his victim in the semifinal, it was the two time champion Andre Agassi who suffered his onslaught in the final, succumbing to a breadstick set in the fourth. After his defeat, the eight time Grand Slam winner heaped praise on the abilities of the great Swiss master.

2006 – Finishing off a hat-trick in style

The dominance of Federer in Grand Slams can best be understood by the way in which he scored his victories. Quite often, even on players who were ranked inside the top ten, it was a common sight to see him inflicting bagels and breadsticks. The 2006 US Open was no different as he quelled players of the calibre of Davydenko and Andy Roddick in the semifinal and final respectively, completely destroying them in the process. It was a heart-breaking day for A-Rod, who lost another championship match 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-1 to the Swiss. It was also the third successive US Open title for him.

2007 – Resumption of a Serbian rivalry

The Federer – Djokovic rivalry in US Open started in 2007. Since then, they both played against each other in Arthur Ashe Stadium for five successive years till 2011. The then World No.1 was given a tough draw to begin with. Blocking his way were hefty individuals like John Isner, Feliciano Lopez, Andy Roddick and Daveydenko enroute to final. He did not get an easier opponent in the final either as a very young Novak Djokovic stood between him and the fourth successive US Open title. Though the match was routed in three sets by the then defending champion, it was a closely fought championship match with the first two sets ending in a tie-breaker.

The ever so unflappable Roger Federer, though, lost a bit of flair in the subsequent years and the US Oopen victory was the only face saver for him in 2008. The five time US Open champion was unlucky to have missed out on securing his sixth consecutive title in Flushing Meadows but it was here that he played the shot of his career, which came against Novak Djokovic in the last four stage of 2009. Chasing a lob, he ran backwards to complete an unbelievable “between the legs” shot winner, which set up the match point for him against the Serb. Even if we could forget all of his five US Open victories, this was one shot which we may never ever forget. Can we?