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Sports / Tennis
Federer holds nerve to win US Open title
(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-09-10 11:06
NEW YORK - Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic 7-6 7-6 6-4 in a tense
battle on Sunday to win his fourth successive US Open crown and take his
grand-slam tally to 12.
Roger Federer of Switzerland poses with the trophy after winning his
match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men's final of the US Open
tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, September 9, 2007.
[Reuters]?
Third seed Djokovic had five set points in the opening set of the final
and two in the second but world number one Federer dug deep when he
needed to and held his nerve to win the title.
Djokovic, bidding to become the first player representing Serbia to win a
grand-slam title, served for the first set at 6-5 and had five set
points, only to allow Federer to break back and win the tiebreak 7-4.
The third seed led 4-1 in the second and had two set points on the
Federer serve at 6-5, but the top-seeded Swiss hit back to win the
tiebreak 7-2 and broke in the 10th game of the third to clinch victory.
In a swirling wind, neither player hit the heights in the opening stages
and games went with serve until the 11th when two uncharacteristic
forehand errors from Federer gave the Serb the break.
With Maria Sharapova watching from the Djokovic box, the set looked to be
his when he forged ahead 40-0 but his nerve faltered when he needed it
most, missing five set points as Federer broke back and snatched the
tiebreak 7-4.
Djokovic showed huge resolve when he broke in the fourth game of the
second set and looked on course to level when he led 4-1.
Federer was in a spot of trouble at 15-30 in the next game but held on
and immediately broke Djokovic to love to get back on serve.
In the 12th game, Federer coughed up three errors to give Djokovic two
set points at 15-40, but four first serves helped him force another
tiebreak.
A backhand error from Djokovic gave Federer a 3-2 lead in the tiebreak
and the Swiss reeled off the next four points to take a two-sets lead,
clinching it with a rasping backhand pass.
That was a bitter pill to swallow for Djokovic, but the Serb showed his
mettle again as he forced 0-40 on the Federer serve in the fifth game of
the third set.
That was his last chance, though, as the Swiss held on and broke in the
10th game, clinching victory when Djokovic netted a drop shot.
Federer became the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the US
Open title four years in a row.
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