Big daddy hits the Big Apple
shuttle buses (sharing a shuttle bus to the airport with a coughing journalist) and the general grind of the tour. They agonise over the schedule, their backup teams, their form and fitness.
Federer hardly complains about anything, from questionable line calls to the obvious logistical challenge of moving around the world with a wife and four children – although he does have in place what is cynically referred to as ‘‘his staff’’, especially by lampooning Tweeter, @Pseudofed (who is followed by most of the leading players, including Andy Murray; and nobody is divulging the rascal’s identity).
Federer is aware of the lockerroom laughter behind his back. That does not seem to bother him, either. He is so in love with tennis and his family that outside considerations rarely disturb his Zen-like demeanour.
‘‘I finally got a big trophy for the kids,’’ he said, after flirting with defeat before seeing off the hangdog David Ferrer 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 to win the Western & Southern Open, putting him in the best possible place before this week’s US Open.
The three-month-old kids, Leo and Lenny, might be less aware of their father’s deeds than Myla and Charlene (born July 23, 2009) but there is no doubt the close family unit is an important component in Federer’s enduring success. He is the daddy of the tour.
‘‘I’ve been bringing home some smaller ones,’’ he adds. ‘‘I keep telling them they are still trophies but this one should satisfy them.’’
However, dad needs his rest. He’s just turned 33 and, although probably in better shape than nearly anyone else that age worldwide, tennis is a weekly assault course on the body, hurting more as the years pass.
‘‘I was considering not playing Ohio,’’ he revealed later. ‘‘We don’t need to take chances . . . I need to be smart about how much I play, when I play and how I feel. So I waited for Monday, Tuesday to see how I played. In practice I felt like I was recovering quickly and gave it a go.
‘‘I could have just not played and gone into the Open feeling good about my chances; now I feel even better. On the flip coin, what was the other plan: practise, take a few days off? But then I have to grind it out in the practice. I still believe matches are the best practice right now.
‘‘Now I come in [to Flushing Meadows] with great confidence. I’ve rested, rather than having to work on stuff. I’ve just enjoyed New York for what it is, and gone out to the practice courts and done the opposite of what I had to do last year. Last year I went out there and did three-hour practice sessions and went for extra practice sessions after matches sometimes. That I don’t have to do. I know my game is where I want it to be. It’s about just keeping that level up right now.’’
In Cincinnati, Federer saw off Andy Murray and Milos Raonic before getting his hands on the trophy in a high-quality final. It was his sixth Cincinnati Open title, the 80th overall in his career, the 22nd in a Masters 1000.
His trophy cabinet is heaving again after taking a worryingly long sabbatical – his losing final against Djokovic at Wimbledon this year was his first in a slam decider since he beat Murray at Wimbledon two years ago.
To extend his career he changed his racket, his training regime and his coach. Mr Nice Guy can also be Mr Pragmatic. On life with his latest coach, Stefan Edberg, he said: ‘‘I don’t know if you spent time with your idol but for me it was quite different in the beginning getting used to that. It was not something I ever thought was going to happen.
‘‘So I’m happy that the transition is in the past now. We sort of like each other’s company. We don’t get bored with each other. We enjoy talking about tennis but then we don’t talk tennis all the time.’’ Now he heads into the US Open, like Serena Williams, with 17 majors to his name and still hungry for more. NEW KIDS: If there is going to be a first-time men’s major champion, two popular picks are Milos Raonic of Canada and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. Each is 23; each made his Slam semifinal debut at Wimbledon. While Dimitrov has never won a US Open match, Raonic has reached the fourth round in the past two years. All six of Raonic’s titles came on hard courts, and some opponents consider his serve the sport’s best. SERENA’S MAJOR CONCERN: Serena Williams could become the first woman in nearly 40 years to win three successive US Opens, but she has not been past the fourth round at a major in 2014. After a third-round loss in singles at Wimbledon, a virusaffected, wayward Williams pulled out in the third set of the doubles. HARD TIME ON HARD COURTS: Maria Sharapova, whose five major championships include the 2006 US Open, is a title contender. So is Eugenie Bouchard, the only woman to reach three Grand Slam semifinals in 2014. Neither, though, has looked great on hard courts lately. INJURIES TAKE A TOLL: In addition to Rafael Nadal, who is skipping the US Open for the second time in three years, China’s Li Na – the No 3-ranked woman and Australian Open singles winner (knee), Juan Martin del Potro (wrist) and Tommy Haas (shoulder surgery) are all out. Others in the draw carrying injuries includie two-time runner-up Victoria Azarenka, who missed the French Open with a foot injury and more recently damaged her right knee.