Roger Federer sent an ominous warning to his rivals by saying his latest US Open title had put him at ease for resurgence in 2009.
A relaxed and invigorated Federer swept Scotland’s Andy Murray aside in straight sets in New York on Monday night to earn his fifth successive US Open title at Arthur Ashe Stadium and silence the critics who had written the Swiss star off as a spent force following an otherwise disappointing season.
Federer, 27, lost his world number one ranking to Rafael Nadal in August after 12 defeats in 2008 which included the loss of his Australian Open and Wimbledon titles and another French Open final setback to the Spaniard.
That left Federer's season on the line but he responded superbly at the Billie Jean King National Centre, gaining revenge for an Australian Open semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic at the same stage in New York and then powering past grand slam final debutant Murray.
‘I would have been disappointed losing and having three finals and one semis of the slams,’ Federer admitted after securing the 13th grand slam title of his career, one shy of Pete Sampras' record haul.
‘You feel like you missed an entire year, you know, being so close but yet so far, because semis and finals don't help me a whole lot any more in my career.
‘It's all about the wins, and that's why this is huge. This is massive, really, and I'm very, very happy about this grand slam obviously. It's a different type of flavour, this one, to me, no doubt.
‘And I can definitely go into the rest of the season more relaxed now, and then also looking forward with great spirits for next year.’
Federer said the turning point in his season was winning an Olympic gold medal in the doubles in Beijing last month with Swiss team-mate Stanislas Wawrinka, a victory that, he believed, put away any doubts about his game as he returned to a tournament he had been unbeaten in since 2004.
‘I was coming here happy being an Olympic champion. I think that's what really made the big difference,’ he said.
‘If I wouldn't have played doubles at the Olympics, say, I would have come here with three tough losses.
‘But with the Olympic gold in doubles, it really sort of made me forget about it, to just come in here and enjoy this tournament.
‘I mean, I'm always going to be confident. I'm a four-time defending champion. So I was always going to believe in my chances, and especially at the Slams, I knew I was so close at Wimbledon that my chances were always going to be good here.
‘So that's why I came into this tournament quite confident.’
Federer insisted he had remained upbeat throughout his grand slam defeats, which included a classic five-set encounter with Nadal at Wimbledon that denied him a sixth consecutive title there.
‘I'm quite proud obviously of my achievement. It takes a lot out of a player, you know, always trying to go from one tournament to the next and trying to do your best, it's been a tough summer.
‘I think the French Open loss was brutal, but I got over that one pretty easily, played great on the grass, and had a really tough loss at Wimbledon where I was proud to be part of such a great match.
‘At the same time it just made me sad not having won that great epic match. Maybe I was always dreaming about it and not winning it.
‘I was always positive. I lost quite a few matches I should have never lost, and they hurt. Now, getting the fifth US Open, it really means a lot to me. I really thank the fans, as well, the crowds. They were great.’
Having recently lost his ranking as the number one player in the world, which he had held since February 2, 2004, Federer said his victory at Flushing Meadows was the perfect riposte.
‘I mean, from the beginning, that's really what I was hoping for. And losing my number one ranking, that's also what meant a lot to me this season.
‘So to bounce back straight away after losing the number one ranking, this is the best scenario ever.’
