TENNIS/US Open: Andre Agassi, the winner of eight grand slam titles and one of only five men to have won all four majors, was unequivocal. "I think Roger is the best I've played against. To watch him evolve has been amazing." For two sets the 35-year-old American, with a near-24,000 Flushing Meadows crowd baying their support, pushed Federer to what appeared to be his limits.
Having squared the match, Agassi led 4-2 in the third set and 30-0 on his serve. "Normally if I play that way I would be favouring myself," he said later. "Then he hit an inside-out backhand mishit that found the line and I hit a net cord to set him up. It doesn't take much with him to break a match open.
"There's nowhere to go. With other guys there is a safety zone, there's a place to get to. Against Roger anything you try to do, he has the answer. He plays the game in a very special way that I haven't seen before. And he does it over and over again."
By beating Agassi 6-3, 2-6, 7-6, 6-1 Federer became the first man to win back-to-back Wimbledon and US Open titles two years running in the Open era, and also extended his run of winning finals to 23. "It's crazy," said Agassi.
"There are periods in a match when you can have him against the fence, but his options are better than anybody else. I had his back against the wall to some degree at 4-2, but he just figured that to be the cue for him to do something else."
Federer believed that it was at this point he began to serve much better. "I hadn't felt it was right all through the tournament, but suddenly it clicked." He also began to hit his backhand with greater venom, suddenly stepping into Agassi's second serve and arrowing the ball past him before he could move.
Until 6-6 in the third set Agassi felt he was still in with a shout, only for Federer to elevate his game to an entirely higher level in the tie-break which he won 7-1.
And that was that. The 11-year age gap was breached wide open and Agassi could no longer cope. Indeed, the overwhelming sense afterwards was that even if Federer had lost the third set he would still have gone on to take his sixth slam.
"He can hurt you at any point," said the American.
"The pressure you feel against him is different to anyone else, and the number of options he has seems endless. He does things the others just can't do."
Not that Agassi will give up trying. He has already laid down his plans for next year, and apparently intends not to play the clay-court season.
He has no need of extra money for himself and his family, but continues to pour money into his charitable foundation, which helps educate at-risk children in Las Vegas.
"There's a lot I can enjoy now whereas before I was too busy worrying about winning," he said.
"I stepped out against Roger and looked forward to it, and I feel good about the fact that I did everything I could to beat him. Feeling that I have been appreciated for these last two weeks has been priceless for me."
This sixth slam title puts Federer on a par with Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg in modern times and, providing he remains fit, he will surely take the total into double figures, something that only Bill Tilden (10), Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver (11), Roy Emerson (12), and Pete Sampras (14) have achieved.
"Pete was great, no question," said Agassi.
"But there was a place to get to with Pete, you knew what you had to do, and if you did it the match could be on your terms. There's no such place like that with Roger."
Guardian Service
FlushingMeadowsResults
MEN'S SINGLES: Final: (1) Roger Federer (Swi) bt (7) Andre Agassi (USA) 6-3 2-6 7-6 (7-1) 6-1.
WOMEN'S SINGLES: Final: (4) Kim Clijsters (Bel) bt (12) Mary Pierce (Fra) 6-3 6-1.
WOMEN'S DOUBLES: Final: (6) Lisa Raymond (USA) and Samantha Stosur (Aus) bt (14) Elena Dementieva (Rus) and Flavia Pennetta (Ita) 6-2 5-7 6-3.
MEN'S DOUBLES: Final: (2) Bob Bryan (USA) and Michael Bryan (USA) bt (1) Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) and Max Mirnyi (Blr) 6-1 6-4.
