History beckons as Federer aims to snap astonishing drought
Roger Federer is chasing another incredible piece of tennis history as the most successful men’s player in grand slam history aims to break an astonishing title drought in New York.
The 37-year-old has already stunned experts by winning back-to-back Australian Open titles and the 2017 Wimbledon crown in the twilight of his career.
Somewhat surprisingly, however, it’s been a decade since the Swiss maestro tasted success at the US Open – with his fifth title coming against Andy Murray in the 2008 decider.
If Federer can continue his resurgence by taking out this year’s US Open title, he would be the oldest man to do so in the Open era and the second oldest of all time.
Fuelling Federer’s desire is the thought of snapping his long drought at Flushing Meadows and adding a 21st major title to his incredible haul.
“I’ve just got to come up with a lot of energy, and then hopefully I also have a chance after 10 years to do something special again at the Open,” Federer said.
“I still think this US Open draw, as well, is going to be quite entertaining, and I can’t wait for the US Open to come around.
Federer has arguably added motivation to win the title after defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Cincinnati Masters final.
In the pair’s first meeting in two and a half years, Djokovic prevailed 6-4, 6-4 to complete the “Career Golden Masters” and become the first man to win all nine ATP 1000 tournaments.
Seven-time Cincinnati champion Federer beat the Serbian in the final on three of those occasions but was a magnanimous loser in conceding the better man won this time around.
The Swiss will take a break before heading to the last major of the year at Flushing Meadows, where he triumphed in five successive years between 2004 and 2008.
“I don’t even want to look for reasons why it happened. I just think it did. Novak totally deserved to win,” Federer added.
“This was not good enough. It’s okay. Good week, but I’m happy it’s over and I need to rest. So it’s all good.”
“He’s a great champion and this is what this should be about, this press conference, not about me missing second-serve returns. It’s about him making history,” Federer said. “We can go into whatever points you want, but I think that’s what the headline should be about. This is an amazing accomplishment, and I hope he’s extremely proud and extremely happy about this moment.
“All these records that a player creates, at the end you’re going to all judge it all together, bundle it up and say, ‘Okay, what was the coolest thing you ever did?’ This might be it for Novak besides winning all the Slams and all the other things he’s done already.
“I think it’s extremely difficult to win a Masters 1000. These tournaments don’t come easy. You saw my performance today. It’s just a long week. It’s tough, gruelling. The best players are playing.
“You play against tough guys early on in the draw, so you don’t have much time to find your rhythm and actually almost work on your game throughout the week. He’s done that maybe better than anybody, so it’s a great credit to him. I think it’s an amazing accomplishment.”
Djokovic – who’s looking to add a third US Open title to his triumphs in 2011 and 2015 – could once again be the biggest obstacle blocking Federer’s shot at history.
With agencies