Roger Federer triple-bagels Andy Murray in simulated U.S. Open final on Nintendo Wii
Andy Murray (6) versus Roger Federer (2) 2008 U.S. Open men’s singles final simulated with "Top Spin 3" (2K Sports) for the Nintendo Wii
The contestants enter Arthur Ashe Stadium. I'm playing as Roger Federer against a computer-controlled Andy Murray. (all photos by Max J. Dickstein)
First Set
Roger Federer opens as server. He comes out tight but blazing in the opening points. His serve is irregular, including one double-fault, but Federer cracks four Murray-yanking winners to take the game 40-15.
Federer leads 1-0
In Murray’s opening service game, Federer plays aggressively from the baseline, using both the forehand and backhand wings. He robs the serve advantage from Murray at 15-40 on the second break point.
Federer leads 2-0
The game is well underway
Roger consolidates the early break at love, keeping the points short with near-line-painting drives to both sides of Murray’s court. Roger has now struck 11 winners against one error. Murray has one of each.
Federer leads 3-0
Federer is better by one star in each category.
The Swiss No. 2 again breaks Murray, who is apparently not gifted with speed enough to chase down Federer’s finishing strikes from the dry white paint of the baseline.
Federer leads 4-0
The 27-year-old Federer, who lost the No. 1 ranking to Spain’s Rafael Nadal Aug.18, holds at love. He begins to feel guilty for wondering whether Murray is doing an early-career impression of late-career Tim Henman. It was Federer, after all, who said after winning his 12th overall Grand Slam in New York last year that his greatest thrill was to beat younger guys who would challenge his dominance, such as 2007 U.S. Open runner-up Novak Djokovic. "New guys challenging me — this is my biggest motivation out there," Federer said then, having just turned back Djokovic in three sets in the 2007 U.S. Open final. "Seeing them challenging me, and then beating them in the finals." Murray, 21, certainly fits the mold of the young challenger to Federer. The 22-year-old Nadal, a five-time Grand Slam champion whom Murray beat to reach this final, is in another class than his young contemporaries — Federer has acknowledged that.
Federer leads 5-0
With more thunderous and precise ground strokes that are impossible for to reach for scurrying Murray, Federer breaks his opponent at love. At first set’s end, with 22 winners against two errors), the four-time defending U.S. Open champion owns a winner-to-error ratio of 2:1.
Federer wins 6-0 and leads Murray one set to love.
Second Set
Federer opens as server. For the first time, the would-be greatest player of all time begins to move forward to the net, crushing one short ball and volleying another point away in his favor. He holds serve at love.
Federer leads 6-0, 1-0
Murray, moving poorly to Federer’s bright strikes and aiming his replies inaccurately, loses his serve at love.
Federer leads 6-0, 2-0
Federer, the “Lord of Swings,” as Bud Collins has called him, begins to shorten points into this repeated, three-step process: sharp serve, weak reply, clean winner. The champion does this by serving cross-court bullets from the edge of the doubles alleys. Murray musters blocked-back, lobbish returns. Federer whacks each of these replies across the court, far from Muray, for winners, The server takes the ninth, 10th, 11th and 12th straight points of the second set.
Federer leads 6-0, 3-0
Murray loses his serve at 15-40 but ends at 14 the consecutive-points streak with whih Federer opened this second set. It’s hardly a consolation. Murray has already thrown his racket to the pavement (it bounced back into this hand). Lately, in short rallies, Murray’s feet cannot stay with Federer’s frozen-rope offerings, invariably aimed across the court from where Federer met the ball.
Federer leads 6-0, 4-0
The former 237-week No. 1 holds at love in his most dominant game yet.
Federer leads 6-0, 5-0
Continuing his dominance into a twelfth straight game, Federer breaks at love. In two flawless sets, Roger has 43 winners against two unforced errors. Murray has won just four points, with two winners and five errors.
Federer wins 6-0 and leads Murray two sets to love.
Third Set
Federer opens as server. He holds at love. Federer has no aces or service winners in this match, but he typically draws such weak returns from Murray that the sixth seed’s last eight service replies have led directly to Federer winners.
Federer leads 6-0, 6-0, 1-0
Murray again wins no points on his serve, losing at love. Federer entertains himself at break point with a foray to the net for a deeply lobbed volley. It’s Federer’s 51st winner.
Federer leads 6-0, 6-0, 2-0
Murray wins a point by firing a ground stroke at the service line, where an overaggressive Federer has his feet, but the Swiss still holds, at 15.
Federer leads 6-0, 6-0, 3-0
Federer sends a volley at the net into the tape to lose the first point on Murray’s serve, but then ends four straight long rallies with unreturnable deliveries. It’s win Federer’s eighth break of the match.
Federer leads 6-0, 6-0, 4-0
It isn’t pretty, but Murray hits three shots wide to help Federer hold at 15. Now is probably time to mention the fact that, according to the USTA, the last triple-bagel (triple-6-0) win at the U.S. Open was between defending champion Ivan Lendl of Czechoslovakia and Barry Moir of South Africa, in the first round in 1987. To equal that vanquishment, Federer still needs to break Murray’s serve a ninth time.
Federer leads 6-0, 6-0, 5-0
Federer gets into Murray’s ninth service game with his powerful forehand, taking the first two points with cross-court winners. At love-30, Federer wins two straight points with a little-used weapon: the one-handed backhand slice down the line. Murray, the first-time Grand Slam finalist, flails at each of the final two winners and loses. Federer won all 18 games of the match, including nine of 11 break points and 72 of 79 points played overall — 64 of them were winners.
Federer defeats Andy Murray, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0. Match duration: 21 minutes.
Andy Murray can't reach slice backhand down the line from Federer and ...
... the new five-time U.S. Open champion pumps his fist in celebration.
The final statistics
— Max
