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| Roger Federer of Switzerland holds up the US Open
trophy after beating Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in New York September
12, 2004. (Agencies) |
Roger Federer is at his best against the best,
when it counts the most, and he was pretty much perfect in the US Open
final. Federer became the first man since 1988 to win three majors in a year, thoroughly outclassing Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 7-6 (3), 6-0 Sunday
to add the American Grand Slam title to those he
took at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
There hadn't been two shutout sets in the event's championship
match since 1884.
"I couldn't have hoped for more. I got the start I wanted, I was
dreaming of," Federer said. "It's a very demanding sport. The season's
long. There's not much time off. This is why I'm grateful every
tournament, every Grand Slam I win. You never know which is your last."
No one is thinking this will be Federer's final major title. With his
fluid, all-court game, cool
demeanor and win-the-big-ones
determination, Federer already is inspiring talk about whether he can
challenge Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles. Sampras got No 4 at age
22; Federer turned 23 last month.
"He's always going to have a chance going into every major. You like
the chances of him picking up at least one out of four every year for a
few years," Hewitt said. "After Pete's left, then Roger comes in, and that
helps tennis in the big picture."
Here's what is particularly remarkable: The top-ranked Federer's
opponent was no pushover. Federer dominated every facet against
pugnacious,
backward-cap-wearing, "Come on!"-yelling, fist-pumping Hewitt, a former No
1 and owner of two major titles, including the 2001 US Open.
 "When he plays like he did today, he's in a different league than
the other players I've played the last two weeks," Hewitt said. "He's such
a big-time player. He plays some of his best tennis in the big matches."
Is there a player who could have defeated Federer on Sunday? "I don't
think anyone in the actual tournament," Hewitt said. "Maybe Pete Sampras."
Federer led the fourth-seeded Hewitt in winners (40-12), aces (11-1),
and service breaks (7-1), and won the point on 31 of 35 trips to the net.
He never before made it beyond the fourth round at Flushing Meadows,
leading some to wonder whether the wind, wild fans and roaring airplanes
overhead might provide too many distractions for the fastidious Federer.
"To me, not even in my wildest dreams I would have thought, 'I'm going
to win the US Open.' Now that I did it, it's still tough for me to
believe," Federer said. "At the end of the year, I'll be looking back and
thinking, 'How did I do this?'"
There are all sorts of impressive accomplishments Federer can lay claim
to:
_ including Wimbledon in 2003, Federer is 4-0 in major finals, the
first man in the Open era to start a career by winning his first four;
_ he's won 11 straight tournament finals overall;
_ he's won 17 straight matches against players ranked in the top 10,
including Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals and Tim Henman in the
semifinals;
_ no one had won Wimbledon and the US Open back-to-back since Sampras
in 1995, and Federer's run of four of the past six Slam titles is the best
since Pistol Pete won four of five in 1993-94.
"It's an incredible effort, what he's done," Hewitt said. "I don't
think people probably realize how hard it is."
Poor Hewitt. The Australian lost to the eventual champion at each major
this year, including to Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Federer lost
eight of their first 10 meetings as pros, but he's 4-0 against Hewitt in
2004.
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2004-09-13 14:19