Tennis
The US Open was once known as the U.S. National Championships and was as a men's singles tournament. The first in match in 1881 wasn't for money of fame, it was held purely for entertainment purposes. The US Open as we know it today arose when the five major championships were consolidated in 1968. The first modern day US Open was held at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, Queens, N.Y. It has since moved to Flushing Meadows and has emerged into the richest professional tennis event in the world. The prize money is always the largest in professional sports. In recent years the purse surpassed the $17 million mark.
The 1-hour, 49-minute match was the most lopsided final since Sweden's Stefan Edberg held American Jim Courier to six games in the 1991 final. The last time two shutout sets were recorded in an Open championship match was in 1884.
"It's always important to play well in the matches that count the most," said Federer, 23, who also won at the Australian Open and Wimbledon to join Rod Laver (1969), Jimmy Connors (1974) and Mats Wilander (1988) as the only men in the Open era to win three Grand Slam titles in one season.
Federer, who is the first player in modern history to go 4-0 in major finals, came out swinging with his full arsenal of shots. Hitting lethal forehands and serves, cutting wicked slices and occasionally attacking the net, Federer kept 2001 Open champ Hewitt wondering what hit him. Hewitt didn't win a game until he was down 6-0, 2-0.
Typical was the sixth game of the second set. Threatening to fight his way back into the match, Australia's Hewitt set up his first break point with sharp cross-court backhand pass. But Federer, as he has all season, lifted his game when he needed it most, smacking three consecutive aces so that the Hewitt didn't even touch a ball in the game.
"It's an incredible effort what he's done this year," said Hewitt, who lost to Federer in all three Slams he won in 2004. "I don't think people realize how hard it is."
On match point, Federer ripped a forehand up the line, then did a somersault on the concrete court at Arthur Ashe Stadium before laying flat on his back in disbelief.
"I still can't believe what I have done this year," he said.
Hewitt, 23, can take consolation in that, as the U.S. Open Series leader, he was guaranteed a 50% bonus on top of his $500,000 runner-up check for a total payout of $750,000. Federer took home $1 million.
"I couldn't have hoped for more. I got the start I wanted, I was dreaming of," Federer said. "It's a very demanding sport. The season's long. There's not much time off. This is why I'm grateful every tournament, every Grand Slam I win. You never know which is your last."
No one is thinking this will be Federer's final major title. With his fluid, all-court game, cool demeanor and win-the-big-ones determination, Federer already is inspiring talk about whether he can challenge Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles. Sampras got No. 4 at age 22; Federer turned 23 last month.
"He's always going to have a chance going into every major. You like the chances of him picking up at least one out of four every year for a few years," Hewitt said. "After Pete's left, then Roger comes in, and that helps tennis in the big picture."
Here's what is particularly remarkable: Top-ranked Federer's opponent was no pushover. Federer dominated every facet against pugnacious, backward-cap-wearing, "Come on!"-yelling, fist-pumping Hewitt, a former No. 1 and owner of two major titles.
"When he plays like he did today, he's in a different league than the other players I've played the last two weeks," Hewitt said. "He's such a big-time player. He plays some of his best tennis in the big matches."
Is there a player who could have defeated Federer on Sunday?
"I don't think anyone in the actual tournament," Hewitt said. "Maybe Pete Sampras."
Federer led the fourth-seeded Hewitt in winners (40-12), aces (11-1), and service breaks (7-1), and won the point on 31 of 35 trips to the net.
He never before made it beyond the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, leading some to wonder whether the wind, wild fans and roaring airplanes overhead might provide too many distractions for the fastidious Federer.
"To me, not even in my wildest dreams I would have thought, 'I'm going to win the U.S. Open.' Now that I did it, it's still tough for me to believe," Federer said. "At the end of the year, I'll be looking back and thinking, 'How did I do this?'"
There are all sorts of impressive accomplishments Federer can lay claim to:
- including Wimbledon in 2003, Federer is 4-0 in major finals, the first man in the Open era to start a career by winning his first four;
- he's won 11 straight tournament finals overall;
- he's won 17 straight matches against players ranked in the top 10, including Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals and Tim Henman in the semifinals;
- no one had won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open back-to-back since Sampras in 1995, and Federer's run of four of the past six Slam titles is the best since Pistol Pete won four of five in 1993-94.
"It's an incredible effort, what he's done," Hewitt said. "I don't think people probably realize how hard it is."
Poor Hewitt. The Australian lost to the eventual champion at each major this year, including to Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Federer lost eight of their first 10 meetings as pros, but he's 4-0 against Hewitt in 2004.