Five Straight for Federer at US Open tennis?
September 7, 2008
Roger Federer has beaten the rain and Novak Djokovic to take his shot at his fifth straight US Open tennis title.
The organisers brought the match forward by one hour as the weather reports said torrential rain was on the way. That is how it turned out as the second semi and the women’s final were not completed in the day’s play.
The other semifinal was moved to Louis Armstrong Stadium also in an attempt to beat the rain. Unfortunately they made the move too late and the match could not be completed before the torrential rain hit the courts. The move caused a security concern as when the announcement came there was a rush of fans from Arthur Ashe Stadium to Louis Armstrong.
The current world number 1, Rafael Nadal has a tough battle ahead of him when play resumes on Sunday New York time as he currently trials Andy Murray 6-2, 7-6(5), 2-3. It is not beyond him but Murray was playing a good match. Nadal does have the break and is serving when the players get back on court.
Roger Federer advanced to the final, which will be played on Monday following a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 win over his conquerer at the Australian Open at the same stage, Novak Djokovic. If not for that loss Federer would have been playing in his 14th straight grand slam final.
Federer started the match well and got a break in the first set. This was enough to secure the first set. In the second set Djokovic was now playing closer to his best and hitting the ball well. Djokovic and Federer both had breaks and the match was at a crucial point with Federer serving at 5-6. He quickly found himself 3 set points behind. Unlike last year in the final Djokovic converted a break point to level the match at a set a piece.
After the second set Djokovic was not able to earn himself a break point as Federer stepped up his game. The third set was tight and Djokovic was serving to level the match at 5-5. Djokovic made a few errors and the match turned as Federer broke. He served out the set to go two sets to one up.
Federer could now see the end in sight and pushed ahead to close out the match. He won the set 6-2 to claim his spot in the final. Federer was asked who he would prefer to meet in the final. He skipped the question by saying “I prefer the trophy, That’s what I prefer.”
Federer now can enjoy a day off as Nadal and Murray resume their match.
Federer will be aiming for his 13th grand slam title to edge closer to Pete Sampras’ record of 14.
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