Lucky Thirteen

Thirteen Slam titles. Five Wimbledons, three Australian Opens and now five US Opens. Roger Federer is the man. He is, in my mind, without doubt, the greatest player of all time. He still may have one to go to match Sampras, but is there anyone alive who would bet against him? He isn't going to stop at thirteen. I heard him say so, and I believe him. I believe every word he says.

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What a beautiful final this was. It may not have had the drama and the sense of epic that Wimbledon had, and it may not have been the symbolic victory over Rafa Nadal that Federer really needs, but it just had a sense of being right. Of coming home. What kind of year would it be without Federer winning a Slam? This is where he belongs. He is a champion, in all walks of his life - and he deserves this win so much. So, so much.

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It was not, I will concede, the highest quality match of all time, especially from Andy Murray's perspective. He played a good second set, but he was really quite crippled by the sense of the occasion, I think. It certainly wasn't the match he played against Nadal. Nevertheless, he did take it to Federer on occasion, including breaking him when Federer was serving for the match. I think we're going to see Andy Murray here again next year - maybe in the US final, maybe in the Australian. I wouldn't be surprised to see him win a Slam one of these days. I don't think he's going to be a one-Slam wonder like Baghdatis. I would not be surprised, as I discussed yesterday, to see him go down the Djokovic route and really start taking it to the big guys. It will be interesting to see how he goes at the Australian Open next year. He doesn't have anything to lose there - he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round this year (I was there!) I think Murray is made of stronger stuff than many - I only hope that he can improve without becoming as abrasive and awful as Djokovic.

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But today belongs to Roger Federer. He is still the one. Rafa may be on top of the rankings now, but I think Roger Federer is going to be #1 in the public psyche for a very long time. Have we ever seen such a champion? Even Sampras was not as beloved as Federer. He is the ultimate sports gentleman, a statesman, a champion. Everyone has been talking about what a dodgy year he's had that year - a year where he has made two Slam finals and a semi. And now he has a title. Dare anyone gainsay him now?

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I think this victory owes a lot to that doubles gold in Beijing, purely because Federer is obviously enjoying tennis again. There were some moments in the third set when, to go up 5-0, we saw Federer in full flight. Has any player ever played such exquisitely beautiful tennis? Rafa Nadal has the shots and his game is excellent, but I don't think anyone could really call his tennis beautiful. That is what Federer's game has - a sense of beauty, of fluidity, of elegance. His genius lies in his artistry, made possible by his amazing ability.

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And if we're comparing Federer to champions of the past, this year was very much like Sampras's 1996. He wasn't doing so well, was being criticised, and came out and beat Michael Chang in the US Open final in three sets, 6-1 6-4 7-6. What has Federer done? Won the US final in three pretty routine sets. At Wimbledon, we have seen his finals get harder every year, particularly with the evolution of Nadal. This US final was, I would contend, easier than last year's against Djokovic. Certainly Murray never had any set points, and Djokovic had what, seven? And the pressure on Federer was even more intense this year.

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And he answered.

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Sampras went on from 1996 to have a pretty great 1997. So what will Federer do in 2009? I can't tell you for sure, but I'd put a lot of money on the fact that it'll be pretty awesome!

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Today's Results

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US Open (Flushing Meadows)

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Men's Draw

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Roger Federer def. Andy Murray, 6-2 7-5 6-2

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BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

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Potito Starace def. Marcel Granollers, 6-2 6-4

Guillermo Garcia-Lopez def. Mischa Zverev, 6-4 3-6 6-0

Florent Serra def. Nicolas Devilder, 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4)

Denis Gremelmayr def. Jeremy Chardy, 6-1 5-7 6-4

Albert Montanes def. Hyung-taik Lee, 6-1 7-6 (7-4)

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Commonwealth Bank Tennis Classic (Bali)

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Francesca Schiavone def. Sandy Gumulya, 6-2 6-0

Peng Shuai def. Ayumi Morita, 6-2 6-1

Marta Domachowska def. Lavinia Tananta, 6-2 6-3

Akgul Amanmuradova def. Ayu Fani Damayanti, 6-2 6-1

Tamira Paszek def. Anna-Lena Groenefeld, 7-5 6-4

Yuan Meng def. Yaroslava Shvedova, 5-7 6-2 7-5