Daylight was fading, and the lights high above Arthur Ashe Stadium court had taken a firm hold on the court below.
And Roger Federer was midway through the final set of this U.S. Open destruction, the full measure of his immense repertoire on display.
He was zinging forehands, clubbing topspin backhands heavy enough to shake Lleyton Hewitt’s grip on his racket, cleverly placing serves and delivering deft little touches around the net balls that seemed to be caressed, not stroked.
It was all there for Federer on Sunday in a 6-0, 7-6 (3), 6-0 victory that was not only an exquisite combination of power and finesse but one of the most one-sided of U.S. Open men’s championship matches.
There was more historical significance than drama on this perfect afternoon for tennis.
The Swiss star became only the fourth player in the Open era, and the first since Mats Wilander in 1988, to win three of the four Grand Slams in a calendar year. He also became the first man in the Open era to win his first four Grand Slam finals.
Yet more important than the numbers is the context in which he finds himself after conquering the Open, where he had never been past the fourth round.
With this triumph, the comparisons to Pete Sampras and Bjorn Borg will become more pronounced. At 23, Federer has four majors. At 23, Sampras had five and was on his way to a record 14. And many believe 14 is within Federer’s reach.
“If you can handle New York, you can handle anything,” Federer said.
He arrived here earlier than usual, a week before the start of the tournament, and absorbed the distractions as he prepared.
“I’m very happy the way I played all tournament long,” Federer said. “It’s been a very consistent performance for me. Not in my wildest dreams, though, did I think I would win the U.S. Open.
“It’s still tough to believe. At the end of the year especially, I’m sure I’ll ask myself how in the world I did all this.”
The last nine months have left him, admittedly, “exhausted.” The expectations placed on him by others and by himself rose to a crescendo here, and he’s now ready to take at least two weeks off before embarking on the indoor season that leads up to the $3.7 million Masters Cup finale in Houston in November.
They don’t teach Federer’s brand of tennis at the youth academies, where the emphasis is on ball-crushing and sheer power above all else. Federer is a practitioner of a style in vogue before the advent of the metal racket.
“I think it’s very artistic,” he said. “I like my game the way I play it. This is how the seniors of today used to play, and this is how I used to watch tennis and learn the game. Now that I can play it on a modern basis, it’s very special for me.”
