Game Face

By Max J. Dickstein

Roger Federer (Getty)

A fabulous men’s tennis season is heading toward an inconclusive end.

The Tennis Masters Cup, a season-ending round-robin tournament among the world’s top eight men, begins Sunday in Shanghai. When the top eight are intact, this event offers the year’s best performers the chance to fight for the best finish.
But top-ranked Rafael Nadal, who won Wimbledon, the French Open and Olympic gold this year, has bowed out of this ranking-points-rich event with knee tendonitis.

Roger Federer, who lost his top ranking to Nadal in August but went on to win his fifth straight U.S. Open, took over Nadal’s top seed at the circuit finale, where the 27-year-old has won five times. Federer, too, has been feeling the effects of a long season and the increased competitiveness of the game’s second tier of top players.

The other defending Grand Slam winner, third-ranked Novak Djokovic, has played well but not superbly since he won the Australian Open, his first major, in January.
That leaves the door open next week for the most in-form player in the Masters Cup draw, fourth-ranked Andy Murray, who beat Nadal in Flushing to reach his first major final and has won two tournaments since.

(Photo by Max J. Dickstein)

... this photograph of Roger Federer just before 9 p.m. on Monday night might help you imagine what it's like.

— Max

Roger Federer of Switzerland at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 8, 2008. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

By Max J. Dickstein
mdickstein[at]am-ny.com

For Roger Federer, there’s nothing like two late-summer weeks in New York to get things right.

The Swiss star dismissed Scottish challenger Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 Monday evening to clinch his fifth straight U.S. Open title and 13th Grand Slam championship.

-Click here to see photos from the Federer-Murray match

-Click here to see photos of Roger Federer through the years

Only an hour and 51 minutes after the match began, Federer cracked an overhead on his second match point; a ragged Murray shunted his forehand reply into the net and Federer fell to the hardcourt in celebration. Federer had coverted his seventh of 10 break points before the set over the packed and adoring Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.

"To take this home is incredible," Federer said on the court before he received another seven-pound, Tiffany & Co. trophy and a check from the USTA for $1.5 million. "It means the world to me."

Federer thanked the 23,763 fans “from the bottom of my heart” for answering the call to support him in his quest to finally win a major title in 2008. With this one, the five-time Wimbledon champion became the only man to win five consecutive titles at two major tournaments.

Federer’s 12th title came at this time last year, when he defeated Novak Djokovic in a more suspenseful straight-sets victory. But a semifinal loss to Djokovic in Australia, and painful losses to top-ranked Rafael Nadal in finals at Roland Garros and an epic match at Wimbledon this season had tarnished Federer's sterling record. The 27-year-old was ranked No. 1 for 237 weeks before being unseated by Nadal last month.

But Federer had his flourish back at this tournament, which culminated in a dominant dismissal of Murray, a first-time Grand Slam finalist who appeared ragged at times playing his third straight day of tennis.

"I've got the better of him the last two times we played," Murray said of his 2-1 career edge against Federer entering the match, "and he set the record straight today."

Whether Murray was serving or returning, Federer’s all-court attack often sent Murray staggering after booming ground strokes from either wing and sharp volleys at the net, where Federer won 31 points on 44 approaches.

"Today, I think I really chose the right tactics against Andy, who himself is a good tactician," Federer said.

Tropical Storm Hanna dealt the 21-year-old Murray a scheduling blow, forcing him to play two straight days of high-level tennis against Nadal in their semifinal, which he won on Sunday. Federer dispensed with his semifinal opponent, the third-seeded Djokovic, on Saturday, enabling him to rest on Sunday.

— Max

-Click here to see photos from the Federer-Murray match

-Click here to see photos of Roger Federer through the years

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

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.

Rafael Nadal of Spain
shakes hands with Mardy Fish of the United States after beating him at the 2008 U.S. Open.
(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

In case you weren't able to stay up, Rafael Nadal needed until 2:11 a.m. this morning to beat Mardy Fish, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 to make the semifinals at the U.S. Open.

See all the photos here, including bonus photos of some of Rafael Nadal's greatest moments through the years.

Serena Williams, right, shakes hands with her
sister Venus Williams after Serena won their quarter final match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Serena Williams beat sister Venus Williams in a 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (9-7) win before a rocking nightime U.S. Open crowd--on an overruled line call via instant replay!

The close match could've gone either way, with Serena somehow surviving the big points to secure her spot in the semifinals where she'll face Dinara Safina on Friday.

-See all the latest U.S. Open photos here

-See photos of Venus and Serena Williams growing up

Venus and Serena Williams in England in 1997, in an AP file photo

Venus and Serena Williams are close on and off the court, but as you might expect there's a little bit of separation peeking through as they get ready to face each other Wednesday in the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open.

From the AP article:

When it came time Tuesday to prepare for their all-Williams quarterfinal at the U.S. Open, the sisters lined up on adjacent courts, hitting beside -- not with -- each other.

They often practice together. Not this time. Not with what's at stake Wednesday night in their 17th meeting as professionals. Their father, who along with their mother coaches both women, went back and forth, keeping tabs on his racket-wielding daughters.

Later, the side-by-side training sessions done, the sisters caught separate rides away from Flushing Meadows. As Serena walked alone to the parking lot, checking for text messages on her pink cell phone, she was asked if it becomes less tough to have to look across the net during a match and see Venus standing there.

"It does," Serena said Tuesday. "Each time, it gets easier."

Kei Nishikori, Japan, 18

Juan Martin Del Potro, Argentina, 19

In a matchup of teenage phenoms, Kei Nishikori, the 18-year-old from Japan, plays Juan Martin Del Potro, the 19-year-old from Argentina, at 6:30 p.m. this Monday — Labor Day — evening at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
The two young players set up their clash via five-set victories Saturday night in Flushing Meadows. In Louis Armstrong, Nishikori topped fourth-seeded David Ferrer, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, a triumphant defeat of last year’s Spanish semifinalist. The 126th-ranked Nishikori is the first Japanese to reach the fourth round of a major since 1995, and his likely surge in the rankings represents a huge step forward for his country. With his slight, 5-foot-10 build and precocious sense of the moment, Nishikori plays well beyond the years of an individual born in 1989. Through the first round of the U.S. Open, when Nishikori beat 28th-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina in four sets, the youngster had converted an excellent 42 percent of his break-point chances. He won his first tour event at Del Ray Beach, in Florida, beating James Blake in the final.
Ai Sugiyama, the 32-year-old Japanese pro who has played in 57 straight Grand Slam women’s singles draws, seemed to sense the siginificance of Nishikori’s defeat of Ferrer as she watched from the stands.


Ai Sugiyama, applauding for victorious countryman Kei Nishikori at Louis Armstrong Stadium, had lost earlier Saturday night, 6-2, 6-1, to Serena Williams at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Nishikori blew a fifth-set match point on his serve, but won anyway.

The 6-foot-6, 172-pound Del Potro, is truly a colt (that’s what “potro” means in Spanish), with overpowering force and tactical consistency. His sprawling defeat of the ornery 24-year-old Gilles Simon of France, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, showed the increasing undeniability of Del Potro, who has won the last four tournaments he has entered — 19 straight matches at Stuttgart, Kitzbuhel (Austria), Los Angeles and Washington.

Del Potro’s five-set defeat of Gilles Simon on Saturday represented the Argentine's 22nd straight victorious match.

All of this information and circumstance, presented here clinically to the GameFace reader, imbues Monday’s match with unpredictability, fervor and anticipated excellence.
The winner of the young men's fourth-round encounter would play the winner of the match between 10th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland and sixth-seeded Andy Murray of Great Britain. Top-ranked Spaniard Rafael Nadal, would likely await in the semifinal.

— Max

Fourth-seeded David Ferrer walks to his post-match press conference Saturday night at about a quarter to 11. The Spaniard said his winning opponent, Kei Nishikori, has a bright future. Sixth-seeded Dinara Safina, in the pink shirt, is behind Ferrer, on her way to Interview Room 2.

(all photos by Max J. Dickstein)

Ivan Ljubicic, the recently elected European Player Board Representative on the ATP Player Council, was seen in the U.S. Open players’ dining area Wednesday afternoon meeting with top-ranked Rafael Nadal and a Nadal representative, who was translating for the 22-year-old Spaniard.
The top three men’s players — Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic — have been critical of recent ATP efforts to remake the tour calendar. The trio also joined the players advisory council this summer.
Ljubicic, a 29-year-old Bosnian and former world No. 3, is not playing at the U.S. Open. Nadal’s session with Ljubicic, who was listening intently and scribbling on a legal pad that rested on a large binder, was likely related to the player leadership’s plans.
ATP director Etienne de Villiers, who had pushed the schedule reform, failed to have his contract renewed for 2009, and gave an emotional farewell speech to a full meeting of players on Saturday.
The ATP formed in 1990 to unite players and tournaments (but not the four Grand Slams) in running the men’s circuit, with equal representation for each on the board of directors.

— Max

Composite photo of Boris Becker, John McEnroe, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Monica Seles back at the U.S. Open tennis tournament made from AP and Getty Images.

Former champs were back in the house for the opening gala of the U.S. Open tennis tournament last night in Flushing, Queens--and it was great to see some familiar faces still looking good.

Tennis royalty were joined by Hollywood and fashion celebrities like Anna Wintour, Martha Stewart, Paula Abdul and others.

* Click here to see about 20 photos of the tennis and entertainment celebrities at the gala

* Click here to highlights from the tennis matches

* Click here to see 90 photos of Roger Federer winning, losing, and at play through the years

Composite photo of Anna Wintour, Martha Stewart, Paula Abdul, Maria Sharapova, and Roger Federer at the U.S. Open tennis tournament made from AP and Getty Images.

Roger Federer and Serena Williams at the U.S. Open tennis tournament Wilson Party at Mansion in New York City photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images

With the Olympics over, the U.S. Open tennis tournament moves onto center stage in the sport world. We have tons of coverage, beginning with:

-Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Novak Djokovic, Jonas Bjorkman, Jelena Yankovic, Tracey Austin, Mary Joe Fernandez, and even Virginia Wade at parties around town

-Quick profiles of the five men and five women favorites

-Sports Editor Max Dickstein's breakdown of the men's field

-Quick profiles of the five men and five women favorites

-90 photos of Roger Federer over the years (with special appearances by one Rafael Nadal)

I've been enjoyed this new Nikon D60 digital SLR camera I picked up a couple of weeks ago. I put it to work yesterday at the U.S. Open, training it on a few men's tennis stars who were at practice.

Click here to see 90 photos of Roger Federer winning, losing, and at play through the years

(All photos by Max J. Dickstein/amNY)

No. 2-seeded Swiss Roger Federer, serving and smiling, hit with Rainer Schuettler of Germany for an hour and a half at in Arthur Ashe stadium.

Following Federer at 1 p.m. on Ashe were ...

Americans Andy Roddick, above, and James Blake, below.

Six-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic at the Empire Hotel party Friday night. (Photo by Max J. Dickstein/amNY)

I was probably the only person in New York who took photographs of No. 14 seed Ivo Karlovic practicing Friday and then photographed him at the Heineken Light-sponsored players party at the Empire Hotel. The 29-year-old Karlovic is the player directly responsible for knocking Roger Federer out of the top spot in the world rankings. He did so by beating Federer in two tiebreakers at Cincinnati on Aug. 1, 7-6(6) 4-6 7-6(5).

U.S. Open Casting Call finalist Elijah Boothe, 12, of Jackson, N.J., takes direction from USTA staff as he participates in Thursday's tournament draw.
(Photos by Max J. Dickstein)

What if the superprofessional USTA held a U.S. Open draw ceremony and got part of the men’s tennis bracket wrong?
That was the case for about three minutes Thursday at the TimesCenter on 41st Street, where U.S. Open tournament referee Brian Earley supervised the drawing and placing of the 32 men’s and women's seeds for the final Grand Slam of the year.
All went smoothly until the bracket placement of No. 27 Feliciano Lopez on the men's side was at stake.

(PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images)

Athens 2004 gold medalist Nicolas Massu may have been ousted in straight sets from the Beijing Games in the second round last week by Argentina’s David Nalbandian, but he moved on today against breezier competition in men’s qualifying for next week’s U.S. Open.
The ninth-seeded Chilean beat Brazil’s Andre Miele 6-2, 6-3 to reach the final 64 of the men’s best-of-three-sets tournament before the major tournament. Massu, 28, faces Portugal’s Rui Machado next.
While Chile’s gold medalist slogs through Open qualifying, Spain’s 2008 medalist, Rafael Nadal, 22, enters the year’s final Grand Slam as the top seed for the first time in his career. The four-time French Open and first-time Wimbledon champion will almost surely be matched against a qualifier (possibly Massu) when the draw is released out at 11 a.m. on Thursday.
Of course, we will be there when the first-round matchups are revealed.

— Max

Why does one-time Grand Slam winner Andy Roddick get the supermodel fiancée?
Because he sets up the upward-facing fan perfectly in her active-wear brand photo shoot in Los Angeles. Way to go Andy! Hold fast to your day job, famed fashion photographer Davis Factor.

If you know someone between the ages of 6-18 who's looking for something to do now that school's out, the New York Junior Tennis League wants to give them free tennis lessons starting today.

You don't even need a racket--just show up at any of nearly 50 locations in all five boroughs, pretty much anytime during the day this week (or next week, or the next....)

And yup, current world #8 James Blake got his start in one of these programs....

Photo of James Blake at Wimbledon from AFP/Getty Images

Today Max Dickstein got a tennis lesson. It was given by tennis legends Tracy Austin and Lindsay Davenport. It didn't go well. And I was there to record the details. Take a look:

For Max's interview with Lindsay and Tracy, head here.

-- Tim Fiorvanti

(Photo: THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images)

Roger Federer’s humiliation yesterday at the hands of Rafael Nadal, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, was both stunning and unsurprising
A gulf still exists between the top-ranked Federer and most of the men’s field in terms of talent and ability, but the 26-year-old Swiss has been shaky in recent matches against his top pursuer, No. 2 Nadal, consistently blowing leads, or — in yesterday’s case — chances for leads. It is occasionally astounding to see Federer, acclaimed for his "match-tough" mental strength, dump several shots low into the net on key points.
Nadal, 22, looks quite able to end Federer’s four-and-quarter-year hold on the No. 1 ranking by winning a Wimbledon title this July.
— Max J. Dickstein

Roger Federer gained the men’s No. 1 ranking on Feb. 4, 2004, and has held it since. In that same period on the WTA tour, five different women have alternated possession of the top ranking 12 times. The Dinara Safina's gutsy fourth-round upset of top-ranked Maria Sharapova at the French Open on Monday underlined the long-term instability atop women’s tennis, where the door will inevitably revolve again after the last ball is struck at Roland Garros.

— Max J. Dickstein

(Photo from Getty Images)

Viewers of Sunday morning’s telecast of the Hamburg Masters final saw two matches.

One was the Master Series tournament final between the tennis' two greatest nemeses, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Nadal won that match 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-3.

The other was the match within the tremulous, top-ranked Federer, who squandered wide leads in the first two sets and exhibited an occasionally cranky demeanor. The 26-year-old Federer has one title this year, at Estoril, and an aberrant seven losses.

This continuing crisis of confidence handicaps the 12-time Grand Slam winner heading into the French Open next week, where Federer has wilted in two straight finals, in 2006 and 2007.

— Max Dickstein