COVER STORY: OCTOBER 2007

NEW YORK — Roger Federer has won 12 Grand Slam titles in just over four years, and now the 26-year-old looks like a lock to break Pete Sampras’ all-time mark of 14 during the next two years.

So many terrific young players have come at him during that stretch, including Serbian Novak Djokovic, who tore at him during the U.S. Open final, when the 20-year-old held seven set points against the remarkable Swiss. But Federer’s steely aura once again proved unbreakable, when he came through with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory.

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“Honestly, I’ve enjoyed the challenge of young guys challenging me,” he said. “This is probably my biggest motivation out there. Seeing them challenge me, beating them in the final, it’s really for me the best feeling.”

Federer just keeps winning majors, even when his game appears a little tarnished, even when it looks like a strong-legged, powerful backboard like Djokovic appears ready to overtake him.

But winning majors is not just about the Xs and Os and flashes of brilliance, it’s about navigating the big moments. Federer did so once again while Djokovic got a case of first-major-final jitters.

With every match Federer contested from the third round on, there was talk about how some hot player could shock him on a great day. John Isner, and his 130-mph-plus serve took a set off him, and he was fresh out of college for Mirka’s sake. Lefty Feliciano Lopez took a lesson from his good friend Rafa and threw lefty hooks at his backhand and grabbed a set, too. Andy Roddick bubbled with nuclear power and rushed him for two tiebreakers. Nicolay Davydenko out-played him off the ground for much of their three sets. Djokovic’s ground strokes looked like they had a good deal more stick than his did.

But, all the while, Federer lay in wait for the crucial moments, the key momentum shifts, and when they came, he put on his pointy wizard’s hat and blinded them with mental and technical magic.

The young Serbian was pumped up coming into the match, claiming that he was ready to match Federer stroke for stroke. That’s what he did through the beginning and middle stages of the sets, when it looked like he could wear Federer down and out-hit him.

He broke Federer to 6-5 in the first set when the Swiss missed a forehand. He was light on his feet and curling shots into the corners.

He held five set points, but couldn’t hold his nerve. Federer nailed a forehand crosscourt winner on Djokovic’s first set point, but, then, on his next three, Djokovic missed two backhands and a forehand. On the fifth one, Federer smoked a forehand return winner.

Then Djokovic let down and double faulted to hand the break back to 6-6. In the tiebreaker, an angry, racket-smashing Djokovic slid to 3-3 when he double faulted, missed a backhand and then watched Federer crush a service winner. Federer missed a forehand on his first set point, but Djokovic then double faulted to hand over the set.

“I was quite nervous, a lot of pressure, and I knew that I had to make some shots,” Djokovic said. “Obviously, that was mistake because I just needed to calm down and wait for my chances, which I didn’t. I made a lot of first-shot unforced errors in that game. I think that was pretty crucial. I think I was mentally weaker today. On the important points he is mentally stronger. It was my mistake and my weakness today. It was my first Grand Slam final, 23,000 people, and everybody expected a nice match. So I had quite a lot of pressure.  But I enjoyed it.”

Federer could have stepped on the gas in the second set, but didn’t, as he was overly concerned with the wind and allowed the sweet-swinging Serb to take it to him again. With Federer serving at 5-6, Djokovic held another two set points. Federer flattened a 126-mph ace on the first one, but on the second one, Djokovic just missed a forehand winner. He challenged the call, but was turned back. Bad luck in a way, but the great players make those shots — great players like Federer.

“I always say sometimes you need a bit of luck,” Federer said. “It’s obvious like in card games or something you hope it falls your way, but you can force the issue, too, push it your way, more than just rely on pure luck. I think, especially over five sets, you pull away the luck a little bit and it’s more of how good you are really. Sometimes it comes down to the crunch. We’ve seen it many times it’s played on one point. Who takes the right decisions, who doesn’t make the mistakes on big points. He did today and it cost him the match.”

Federer then decided it was time to soar and he did in the tiebreaker, winning six of the seven points with scorchers, including four service winners that Djokovic barely touched, an inside-out forehand winner and a set-winning backhand down-the-line pass.

Djokovic kept battling in the third set but by then it was clear that if Federer got a chance to close out the match, he would.

At 4-5 on Federer’s second match point, Djokovic’s drop shot attempt fell short.

“My next book is going to be called, Seven Set Points,” Djokovic said with a laugh.

Federer didn’t smile when discussing his foe’s missed chances.

“You could sing a song about it,” he said. “It’s a tough one for him to swallow, because, especially him losing in the end straight sets, it’s tough.”

Djokovic’s mother, Dijana, later said that her son is “better” than Federer and chalked up the defeat to a long season and inexperience.

But experience counts a great deal, and the only way to gain ultimate wisdom is to reach Slam finals again and again, just as Federer has.

So now Federer has done what no other man ever has, going back to back to back to back at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open four straight times. That record might not be tied this century, let alone broken. In winning his 12th Slam title, he passed two legends, Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver, and tied Roy Emerson. At the relatively young age of 26, Federer has Pete Sampras’ all-time mark of 14 well within his sight.

Remarkably, Federer has the mathematical chance of breaking that mark before next year’s U.S. Open. Only the likes of Rafael Nadal and Djokovic look like they have the goods to stop the landslide, and if they don’t make the necessary mental and physical improvements, the tour will be singing Federer’s tune into the next decade.

 “I think about it a lot now,” said Federer, who in his last four U.S. Opens, has beaten Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Djokovic for the title. “In the beginning I felt pushed a little bit in the corner, put under pressure about the situation because you don’t win Slams like that, it’s just too tough.  I feel these two and a half weeks, it’s so draining. I’m exhausted in the end.  It’s a great relief, just to finally maybe have a good night’s sleep without thinking about the upcoming five-setter I have to play. So I know how tough it is. So to come so close already at my age is fantastic, and I really hope to break it.”

But what gives the Swiss the most joy is knocking off the tour’s two most talented 20-year-olds Rafael Nadal, whom he outlasted in five sets in the Wimbledon final, and who, gimpy-kneed, was exhausted by David Ferrer at the Open, and the new world No. 3 Djokovic.

“No. 2, No. 3, doesn’t matter much; it’s No. 1 that matters,” he said with a wicked smile. “That’s how it goes.”

 

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