Federer Has Eye of Tiger in Open Final

Other guests around the Grand Slam table linger only as long as the benevolent host allows. Eventually the time comes, you know it does, and Roger Federer almost always has to send them home without a title.

A service break is like a tap on the shoulder.

His version of thank you, good night came in the final game of the third set.

Federer continued his relentless assault on American tennis Sunday, winning another U.S. Open title, defeating Andy Roddick in the final, climbing ever closer to Pete Sampras’ all-time Grand Slam record . . . and there was nothing Jimmy Connors could do about it.

As he often does, Federer picked up the tempo at will, breaking Roddick at 15 to win the third set when Roddick netted a volley. This was the start of an especially ruthless dismissal as the top-seeded Federer won eight of the final nine games, beating No. 9 Roddick, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, in 2 hours 27 minutes.

First, some history. Federer became the first man to win both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in three consecutive years. This was his ninth Grand Slam singles title, pulling him within five of tying Sampras’ record of 14.

He won three of the four Slam events this year, faltering only against Rafael Nadal in the French Open, the only time he has lost in the final of a major. He has also won five of the last six majors, and his nine Slam titles have been accrued in a little more than three years’ time.

The moment of elation Sunday had Federer looking like a little kid, flopping on his back on the court. A gracious Roddick stepped over the net and came over to congratulate him.

“I think this is a huge Grand Slam,” Federer said, smiling. “Just felt like this is a great moment, once again, in my career. I deserved to lie down. Kind of give myself a break. From standing up, sitting down and everything, I just thought lying down would be more comfortable. Thank God I didn’t injure myself.

“I haven’t seen it yet in replay, but one thing’s for sure. I felt great lying on the floor alone.”

Home, alone.

Tiger Woods knows all about closing on Sundays and chasing history. And the great golfer himself was on hand, sitting in the front row of Federer’s box. They are represented by the same management company, IMG, and have been long trying to schedule a meeting; they finally spoke for about 20 minutes.

“He knew exactly how I kind of felt out on the court,” Federer said. “A guy who knows how it feels to feel invincible at times and when you have the feeling like there’s nothing going wrong anymore. In the fourth set, for instance, it’s for him on the final round.”

What quality does Woods most admire about Federer?

“He gets it done,” Woods said as he was being hustled down the hallway toward the locker room to celebrate with Federer.

Trust Federer to do something to counter the presence of Connors in Roddick’s camp, by bringing in the golf legend.

Roddick’s renaissance under Connors’ guidance has been remarkable. His confidence at low ebb after losing in the third round at Wimbledon, he has lost only twice in completed matches since the partnership kicked off.

Connors was pleased after Act I.

“I liked his attitude,” Connors said. “I liked his guts. I like a kid who’s not afraid to get in there and mix it up, win, lose or draw.... I like the way he played. He played like a man. He lost like a man.”

Roddick’s swagger, serve and a vastly improved backhand turned the final into one with questions, though when Federer took a 5-0 lead in the first 17 minutes, it seemed like the same old, same old.

After losing the first set, Roddick broke Federer in the opening game of the second at love. “You don’t want to get embarrassed out there,” said Roddick, who came to the net 49 times in the match and forced Federer to come up with quality passing shots.

The hardest-fought game was the sixth game of the third set. There were seven deuces and Roddick saved five break points. In the previous game, Federer had saved four break points.

“That was a big game,” Roddick said of holding his own serve. “At that point, we were pretty much fighting tooth and nail. I just kept trying to fight and came up with some big serves when I needed to. But I thought he played a pretty good game there to break me to win the set.”

Roddick, who has lost two Wimbledon finals to Federer, was excited to be at the table again after his shaky first half of 2006.

“It was great,” Roddick said. “The atmosphere was great. I was really enjoying competing. You want to be on that stage. At that point, it was a real battle.... This was a lot more fun than a lot of the losses I’ve had this year.”

Federer ended the fun, sending him off with the service break and running through the fourth set, finding himself alone again, passing the likes of Andre Agassi, Connors and Ivan Lendl, each of whom won eight Slam events.

“Am I the only guy who won nine?” Federer asked. “It’s nice. I don’t want to stop here. I remember being in great company like when I reached six and then seven, and eight. There’s always such great players on that level. Now I’m left alone at nine.”

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lisa.dillman@latimes.com

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The major league

Only five men in the history of tennis have won more Grand Slam tournament championships than Roger Federer. A look at the top six and their record in Grand Slam finals:

*--* Player, Country Australian French Wimbledon U.S. Open Total Pete Sampras, U.S. 2-1 -- 7-0 5-3 14-4 Roy Emerson, 6-1 2-1 2-0 2-1 12-3 Australia Bjorn Borg, Sweden -- 6-0 5-1 0-4 11-5 Rod Laver, Australia 3-1 2-1 4-2 2-2 11-6 Bill Tilden, U.S. -- 0-2 3-0 7-4 10-6 Roger Federer, 2-0 0-1 4-0 3-0 9-1 Switzerland

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Note: Tilden never played in the Australian Open; Borg played in it only once, as a 17-year-old.

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Los Angeles Times