Roger Federer aiming to make most of one of his last, best grand slam shots at US Open
An 18th grand slam title has eluded Roger Federer since his 2012 Wimbledon win, and as time catches up with the Swiss, the 2014 US Open may represent one of his last good shots to get it.
Roger Federer hopes to mark the 10th anniversary of his first US Open title with a sixth triumph in New York and become the oldest Grand Slam champion in more than 40 years.
In an astonishing reversal of fortunes, the 33-year-old Swiss, written off as a relic of the game when he slipped to a fourth round loss to Tommy Robredo 12 months ago, finds himself perfectly positioned to win a staggering 18th major.
Buoyed by claiming a sixth Cincinnati title – his 80th career crown – and with long-time rival Rafael Nadal again sidelined with injury, Federer is relishing the twilight of his career.
His last-16 loss to Robredo in 2013 in New York meant it was the first year since 2002 that he had failed to make a Grand Slam final. The defeat also marked the first time in 10 years that he hadn’t made at least the last-eight at Flushing Meadows.
Suddenly, his five consecutive US Open titles from 2004-2008 appeared a detail in history and his 17th and most recent major success – the 2012 Wimbledon title – looked certain to be his last.
But Federer never doubted his ability to remain a force in the sport and he goes into his 15th US Open with his unwavering confidence justified.
There were hints of a revival at Wimbledon in July where he was defeated in five sets by world No 1 Novak Djokovic.
Since then, he has been runner-up at Toronto and champion in Cincinnati and the problems of 2013, when he was hampered by a back injury, are now distant memories.
“I was scared to have another setback, and so it was just not as clear-cut and simple as it is this year,” said second-seeded Federer, who faces Australia’s Marinko Matosevic in the first round of what will be his 64th consecutive Grand Slam.
“This year I played a lot of good matches. Not just Toronto and Cincinnati, but really from the first week on I have always played really nice tennis.
“You almost forget how to lose to a point and confidence rises. You’re back to winning ways again and everything seems so simple. I’m looking forward to this tournament, because I really feel like I can play a great tournament. I hope I can show that on the court this year.”
Djokovic, the 2011 champion and who has featured in the last four finals, heads into the US Open with two dispiriting third round losses in Toronto and Cincinnati.
The 27-year-old Serb, recently married, has also had to bat back accusations that he is distracted by impending fatherhood.
“I wanted to do better in Canada and Cincinnati. Unfortunately I wasn’t even close to my best. But, you know, a lot of things happened in the last two months, and it was a very emotional period,” said Djokovic, who plays Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman in Monday’s first round.
“I just felt a little bit flat on the court. I wasn’t managing to find that intensity and the perfect mindset.”
Despite recent hiccups, Djokovic’s record at all the majors is impressive – the last time he failed to make at least the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam was at the 2009 French Open.
The odds on Djokovic and Federer meeting in the September 8 final were shortened when defending champion Nadal was forced to withdraw with a right wrist injury.
Andy Murray, the 2012 champion, has not reached a final of any description since his historic 2013 Wimbledon triumph.
Now down at ninth in the world, the 27-year-old Briton has not got beyond the quarter-finals of any tournament since his morale-sapping semi-final loss to Nadal at the French Open where the Spaniard allowed him just six games.
“This year would be the best prepared I have been coming into a slam. I got a great training block over in Miami done, so physically I’m where I would want to be. My body is pain-free, which is good,” insisted Murray whose first round foe is Robin Haase of the Netherlands.
With 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro still sidelined by injury, the much-vaunted next generation will get another opportunity to shine.
But they remain works in progress.
Canada’s Milos Raonic, the world No 6, was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon and Cincinnati where he was swept aside in straight sets on both occasions by Federer.
Fellow 23-year-old Grigor Dimitrov, the world No 8, has three titles to his name in 2014 but lost out to Djokovic in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
More frustratingly, the Bulgarian boyfriend of Maria Sharapova has yet to win a match in three visits to the US Open.
And oft-injured Kei Nishikori is concerned recent ailments will keep him from making much of an impact in New York.
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name:Almnssa
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UAE’s revised Cricket World Cup League Two schedule
August, 2021: Host - United States; Teams - UAE, United States and Scotland
Between September and November, 2021 (dates TBC): Host - Namibia; Teams - Namibia, Oman, UAE
December, 2021: Host - UAE; Teams - UAE, Namibia, Oman
February, 2022: Hosts - Nepal; Teams - UAE, Nepal, PNG
June, 2022: Hosts - Scotland; Teams - UAE, United States, Scotland
September, 2022: Hosts - PNG; Teams - UAE, PNG, Nepal
February, 2023: Hosts - UAE; Teams - UAE, PNG, Nepal
Zombieland: Double Tap
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Stars: Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone
Four out of five stars
Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday Celta Vigo v Villarreal (midnight kick-off UAE)
Saturday Sevilla v Real Sociedad (4pm), Atletico Madrid v Athletic Bilbao (7.15pm), Granada v Barcelona (9.30pm), Osasuna v Real Madrid (midnight)
Sunday Levante v Eibar (4pm), Cadiz v Alaves (7.15pm), Elche v Getafe (9.30pm), Real Valladolid v Valencia (midnight)
Monday Huesca v Real Betis (midnight)
The stats
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Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Scoreline:
Barcelona 2
Suarez 85', Messi 86'
Atletico Madrid 0
Red card: Diego Costa 28' (Atletico)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
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Flying to Guyana requires first reaching New York with either Emirates or Etihad, then connecting with JetBlue or Caribbean Air at JFK airport. Prices start from around Dh7,000.
Getting around:
Wildlife Worldwide offers a range of Guyana itineraries, such as its small group tour, the 15-day ‘Ultimate Guyana Nature Experience’ which features Georgetown, the Iwokrama Rainforest (one of the world’s four remaining pristine tropical rainforests left in the world), the Amerindian village of Surama and the Rupununi Savannah, known for its giant anteaters and river otters; wildlifeworldwide.com
What: 11th edition of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship
When: December 27-29, 2018
Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823
Keane on …
Liverpool’s Uefa Champions League bid: “They’re great. With the attacking force they have, for me, they’re certainly one of the favourites. You look at the teams left in it - they’re capable of scoring against anybody at any given time. Defensively they’ve been good, so I don’t see any reason why they couldn’t go on and win it.”
Mohamed Salah’s debut campaign at Anfield: “Unbelievable. He’s been phenomenal. You can name the front three, but for him on a personal level, he’s been unreal. He’s been great to watch and hopefully he can continue now until the end of the season - which I’m sure he will, because he’s been in fine form. He’s been incredible this season.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s instant impact at former club LA Galaxy: “Brilliant. It’s been a great start for him and for the club. They were crying out for another big name there. They were lacking that, for the prestige of LA Galaxy. And now they have one of the finest stars. I hope they can go win something this year.”
