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September 10, 2008
Roger Federer can rest easy now
By David Waldstein, Star-Ledger
NEW YORK -- Roger Federer said he slept for only 20 minutes
following his fifth consecutive U.S. Open victory Monday, so
excited was he to have salvaged a tough season by winning
the final major title of the year.
Surprisingly refreshed a day after beating Andy Murray,
6-2, 7-5, 6-2, in the final, Federer said the victory proved
to himself that he could still do it his way and win. He
also admitted it saved his season, before backing off a bit
on that.
"Good, great or super year, it doesn't really
matter for me," Federer said yesterday morning. "I
got the Grand Slam I wanted. I always say one Grand Slam in
my eyes saves the season, and that's definitely what it
did. But I don't like to call it 'saving a
season.' (It) sounds so wrong. It doesn't sound
right.
"I think I proved to myself I was doing the right
things, and that the season was difficult and tough for me,
and I did pick the right schedule."
He said he received a text message of congratulations
from Pete Sampras for winning his 13th major title, one
fewer than Sampras' record. He also said he was able to
go back to his usual post-victory routine Monday night.
Whereas at Wimbledon, where he had a quiet dinner with
family and friends after losing a classic battle to Rafael
Nadal, Monday night (and yesterday morning) were a lot more
lively here. One of the things he likes to do after winning
a major is go to his computer and call up highlights of the
match and look at the photographs of the clinching moment.
"I didn't do that at Wimbledon," he said.
"At Wimbledon, I haven't seen a picture of Rafa
with a trophy, or the both of us. It's just something I
don't want to see."
But yesterday morning he clicked on the photos and
recalled the emotional sensation of being on the verge of
winning another major title after a yearlong drought, during
which many said he could no longer do it.
"At 5-0, it's almost a feeling of disbelief
that I'm so close to winning again," he said.
"I had a smile on my face and I almost started to cry
already. It was very emotional for me. That usually happens
a game before I win a Grand Slam."
Federer also revealed some retirement plans.
Unfortunately for all the other players on the tour, it
won't be any time soon. He said he wants to play for at
least another four years -- until the London Olympics in
2012 -- and will keep going until he feels he really
can't win the big ones anymore.
"I have the belief that I can do it as long as
I'm healthy," he said. "I'm going to
believe until the end of my tennis days that I can probably
win a Grand Slam. And if it's not the case and I
don't believe in it anymore, then I'll probably
retire. But I'll feel for a very long time that
I'll always be able to win Wimbledon, always be able to
win the U.S. Open."
And Federer said that at 27, he actually feels better
physically than he did three and six years ago. He said that
due to a proper conditioning program, he doesn't have
any of the lingering pain that bothered him in the past. So
he is very clear about continuing to play -- and win -- for
the next several years, saying, "I live and breathe
tennis."
And there's no sense that he considers it at all
greedy to win 13 or more Grand Slam tournaments and five
consecutive U.S. Opens.
"Winning a fifth U.S. Open is a dream come
true," he said. "You don't think that a
player needs five, but it does create something incredible
for your legacy and makes you very proud."
Federer revealed he loved Andy Roddick's jokes about
Novak Djokovic, claiming he suffered from "bird
flu" and the common cold -- a dig at Djokovic's
many ailments that led to a small tirade by the Serb on
court (and a torrent of boos) after he beat Roddick in the
quarterfinals.
"I thought it was quite entertaining myself, being
from the outside," Federer said. "I wouldn't
love to have been Djokovic, myself. But it's a tough
situation. Andy played a great joke on him. You've got
to give it up to Andy. It's unbelievable."
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