TENNIS/US Open Championship:Roger Federer wins again but is no longer safe on his throne, writes Steve Bierleyfrom Flushing Meadows
It is often hard to judge how the balance shifts in the upper echelons of tennis, but there were many prepared to argue after Sunday's US Open final, in which Roger Federer beat Serbia's young gun Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 to win his 12th major, that the position of the world number one atop the men's tennis pedestal was no longer as secure as it had been.
This is despite the fact that for the second successive year he had won three of the four slams.
Much was made of the seven set points Djokovic failed to convert prior to the tie-breaks and the fact Federer once again demonstrated his colossal mental strength by saving them.
The Serb acknowledged this difference yet the cold facts were that he had created those openings by dominating the Swiss, just as Rafael Nadal has done on the clay of Roland Garros for three years and came close to doing again at Wimbledon last July.
At 26 Federer has seemingly plenty of time to win the three slams that will take him past Pete Sampras's record of 14, although the scintillating rise of Djokovic to third in the world, including a first victory over the Swiss in the Montreal Masters final last month, has seen the immediate challenge to Federer's supremacy become a two-pronged attack.
The Serb is just behind Nadal. Britain's Andy Murray, who beat Federer last year, will also hope to force himself into the mix soon.
"I've enjoyed the challenge of young guys; this is probably my biggest motivation," said Federer, who became the first man in the open era to win four consecutive US Opens and the first to claim back-to-back Wimbledon-US Open titles four years in a row.
Of course, the closer he gets to Sampras's record the greater the pressure: "I think about it a lot now and I know how tough it will be. But to come so close already at my age is fantastic."
Federer is set to play Sampras in three hugely lucrative exhibition matches this year in Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Macau, and then again next March here in Madison Square Garden. He must be careful. Such exhibitions may constitute rich pickings but it would be a great pity if they distracted him from his most pressing goal, in terms of his ever being regarded as the greatest of all time, namely the winning of the French Open. And Djokovic may start squeezing him on that surface too, having reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros this year as well as at Wimbledon.
Djokovic credited Federer's mental toughness as a major factor in his success.
"One of his biggest strengths is that mental strength," he said. "He's the number one player of the world and everybody expects him to do well in every tournament he plays in, on every surface, so he has a lot of pressure. It's amazing to see him, how fast and how successful he deals with that pressure. He performs some incredible tennis."
As much as the quality of his own tennis, Djokovic endeared himself to the crowds here with his on-court impersonations of Maria Sharapova and Nadal after he had defeated Spain's David Ferrer in the semi-finals, and his locker-room antics have also raised a few eyebrows.
"He's walking a tightrope, for sure," said Federer, but added: "If the fans like it, it's good for tennis."
Sharapova was in the Serb's box for the final.
"She said she's going to kill me," he laughed. "Of course, she accepted it the right way and found it funny. She was not offended."
Sometimes the US Open may seem all showbiz froth. In their own different ways Federer and Djokovic accept and embrace it. But underneath the gloss all is deadly serious, the more so their rivalry now.
Men's Singles: final: (1) R Federer (Swi) bt (3) N Djokovic (Ser) 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4.
Grand Slam Titles
Pete Sampras (US) 14
Roy Emerson (Australia) 12
Roger Federer (Switzerland) 12
Bjorn Borg (Sweden) 11
Rod Laver (Australia) 11
Bill Tilden (US) 10
