NEW YORK -- Ominous clouds overhead, the sort of hard court that troubled him this season underfoot, Roger Federer sensed something he hadn't in quite a while on Saturday.
He was playing exactly like that guy named Roger Federer.
The Federer who has won 33 consecutive matches and four consecutive championships at the U.S. Open. The Federer closing in on his 13th Grand Slam title.
"One more match," he said, "is all I need."
Only after Federer finished restoring order to his world by dismissing Novak Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 did Tropical Storm Hanna carry chaos to Flushing Meadows, dumping enough rain to suspend the other men's semifinal in progress and postpone the women's final.
So Serena Williams will seek her third U.S. Open and ninth major title against first-time Grand Slam finalist Jelena Jankovic on Sunday, the first time since 1974 the women's champion won't be crowned on a Saturday.
The men's final was delayed to Monday for the first time since 1987, giving Federer plenty of time to rest. He also was going to be able to do some scouting on Sunday when his nemesis, new No. 1 Rafael Nadal, was to resume his semifinal against No. 6 Andy Murray. They stopped on Saturday with Murray leading 6-2, 7-6 (5), 2-3.
|
|
| Federer delivers 20 aces against Djokovic en route to his fifth straight U.S. Open final. (AP) |
"I had moments out there where I really felt, 'This is how I normally play on hard court' -- half-volleys, passing shots, good serving, putting the pressure on, playing with the wind, using it to my advantage," said Federer, who produced 20 aces and only one double fault.
"I definitely had moments during today where I thought, 'This is how I would like to play every time.' So it was a very nice feeling, actually, to get that feeling back."
He dominated the opening set and the last 1 ½ sets to reach his 13th final in the past 14 Grand Slam tournaments.
The one gap in that span was the Australian Open in January, when Djokovic upset Federer in the semifinals en route to his only major title. Perhaps that gave Federer extra motivation. This was hanging in the balance, too: Had Djokovic won on Saturday and gone on to win the championship, he would have surpassed Federer in the rankings, dropping the longtime No. 1 all the way to No. 3.
"This was a big match. I knew it from when I saw the draw," said Federer, who called his pursuit of Pete Sampras' record of 14 career major championships "obviously still very much alive and everything is possible."
