Federer, as is often the case, withstood a poor first-set performance against Novak Djokovic, whose nerves seem to have played a part in letting the set slip away. The young Serb has had a wonderful year, his best result in Montreal when he beat Roddick, Federer, and Nadal consecutively. But this was his first Grand Slam final, and it showed. He didn't need Maria Sharapova and Bobby Deniro is his box to prove that he belonged on the big stage. He needed his A game.
In fairness to Djokovic, Roger Federer has been playing so well on his serve that he has been able to win, like Sampras did, by playing the tense points at a different level than his opponents. The match statistics afterwards were unremarkable. Roger hit more winners and aces and made fewer unforced errors than Novak did. He also did better on his break chances and won better percentages on both his first and second service.
What is interesting to me about Roger Federer winning his 4th consecutive US Open Championship is that there was a moment in June, during the fourth set of his
Wimbledon Final , when it really seemed possible that he was losing his grip as the game's best player. Federer recovered his poise, in that match, during Rafa's injury time out. And he seems to have done the same thing on a larger scale here. Rafa was not himself during this tournament and his future has been left a bit cloudy by his knee condition. Meanwhile, Roger has gained the tennis stratosphere with 12 Grand Slam titles, having won six in the last two years. It is fair to say that his mystique is stronger than ever. I can't wait for the series of friendlies he'll play with Pete Sampras later this fall.
Djokovic can take heart after his defeat and realize that to gain the level that Nadal and Federer occupy means claiming results in that kind of match by choosing the right times to be aggressive, the right times to be safe. He will only get better at that and his shot-making is already where it needs to be.
For Justine Henin, who has never been my favorite character, all I can say is "Allez Justine!" She kicked everybody's ass worth kicking in this tournament, except for Ivanovic and Jankovic, whom Venus dispatched for her. She killed Kuznetsova in the final in a match that was never going to be interesting. Kuznetsova is more of a chaser, but she's not super solid either, and Justine just had her way with her. Like Federer, Henin had to listen to people talking about her losing her grip on the women's game after she lost to Bartoli at Wimbledon. But like Federer, she has finished an extremely successful year in convincing fashion, and having beaten both Williams sisters easily, she can comfortably be called the greatest player in the women's game.
Henin had a tough year, separating from her husband in January and missing Australia for it. Dick Enberg, who has turned senile and no longer does his homework, congratulated her as Justin Henin-Hardenne after the match. She took the mistake in stride. It's part of her life, she said. She has also said openly that the breakthrough in her personal life has made her much more confident on court. She used to be very nervy on big points, but has begun to play them well. Henin now has seven Grand Slams under her belt and a lot of tennis ahead of her. She is a tiny person, but she strikes the ball better off both sides as well as anyone in history.
The most interesting question put to Federer in yesterday's press conference had to do with Djokovic's off-court antics, his new-found fame as an imitator. Roger took the high road as usual, but made it clear that Djoker-vic's imitations underwhelmed some of his tour compatriots.
"He's walking a tight-rope, for sure,"
Federer said.
But it's still competitive maturity that separates Djokovic from Nadal in the quest to be first on Roger's heels.
