The media and fans have been very cruel for the past month, saying ‘Federer is gone,’ ‘Federer will never win another Grand Slam', etc.
But now Roger Federer is back at his best, easily beat Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 to win his fifth consecutive U.S. Open championship and 13th major title overall. “I felt like I was invincible for a while again,” Federer said.
Federer is the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win this tournament that many times in a row. He also moved within one major championship of tying Pete Sampras’ career record of 14. “One thing’s for sure,” said Federer, the only man in tennis history to win five consecutive titles at two of the Grand Slam tournaments. “I’m not going to stop at 13. That would be terrible.”
Federer struggled at times during a lackluster-only-for-him season. He lost in the semifinals at the Australian Open, and to nemesis Rafael Nadal in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon, meaning Federer was on the verge of his first year since 2002 without a major title. Plus, his record 4 1/2 -year reign at No. 1 ended when Nadal surpassed him last month.
“I had a couple of tough Grand Slams this year … so to take this one home is incredible,” Federer said after stretching his U.S. Open winning streak to 34 matches. “It means the world to me.”
But the sixth-seeded Murray upset Nadal in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows to reach his first Grand Slam final, and Federer had no trouble this time—even though he had lost two of his previous three matches against the Scotsman.
“I came up against, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game,” said Murray, who tried to give Britain its first men’s major champion in 72 years. “He definitely set the record straight today.”
At 21, here’s how young Murray is: Back when Federer was winning his first U.S. Open title in 2004, Murray was just taking the U.S. Open junior trophy.
(Images via Yahoo! Sports)
I can't believe I didn't even write a single post about the Paralympic tennis event Beijing. Shame on me! The U.S. Open is not a good excuse not to write.
Did your local TV network show the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games last Saturday?
Well done to China for such a tremendous effort! Judging from the photos, it matches the quality of the Beijing Olympics last month. Even Hong Kong singer Andy Lau performed at this event!
Now emphasizing on the wheelchair tennis, it was first introduced at the 1988 Seoul Paralympic Games as a demonstration sport and became a full-medal sport at the 1992 Paralympic Games in Barcelona.
Shingo Kunieda of Japan
Esther Vergeer, a hot favourite, at the Great Wall of China.
Esther Vergeer will bid for her third successive gold medal in both singles and doubles in Beijing. The 26-year-old has remained unbeaten in the women's singles since 2003.
Her strongest challenges will come from Frenchwoman Florence Gravellier, Marie-Annick Sevenans of Belgium and Dong Fuli from China.
Robin Ammerlaan is the defending champion.
There is also a strong Dutch entry in the men's singles, with Robin Ammerlaan, defending his title, alongside Maikel Scheffers and Ronald Vink.
There will be six wheelchair tennis events. They include men's singles and doubles, women's singles and doubles, and quad singles and doubles.
(Images via ITF Tennis website, Beijing Paralympic official website)
Fireworks go off before the women's singles finals between Serena Williams
Singer Anita Baker performs before the women's singles finals.
And there was this “added bonus,” as Williams termed it: She returns to the top of the rankings.
After winning the match point, Serena flung her racket straight up and jumped for joy, hopping and skipping and screaming and generally looking like someone who had just won her first U.S. Open title or earned her debut at No. 1 in the rankings.As the women met at the net afterward, Williams felt compelled to say to Jankovic, “I’m sorry I got so excited.”No apology necessary.
“Serena was a better player tonight,” Jankovic said. “She was just too good tonight.”
It was Williams’ first triumph at Flushing Meadows since 2002, and it guaranteed that the American will lead the rankings Monday for the first time since August 2003—the longest gap between stints at No. 1 for a woman.
Her previous Grand Slam title came in January 2007, at the Australian Open.
Serena's boyfriend and rapper Common and Sir Richard Branson 
Actors Brendan Cowell, Rose Byrne and Glenn Close 
Supermodel Naomi Campbell
Singer Rob Thomas and his wife Marisol Thomas
Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend did not win the U.S Open.
(Images via Yahoo! Sports)
But the sixth-seeded Murray upset Nadal in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows to reach his first Grand Slam final, and Federer had no trouble this time—even though he had lost two of his previous three matches against the Scotsman.
