Federer:

SECOND IN THE ALL-TIME SLAM TITLE LIST

Roger Federer won his 13th Grand Slam crown and fifth consecutive US Open title on Monday, defeating British sixth seed Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 to move one Slam title shy of the all-time record.

Federer’s 56th career crown moved him into sole possession of second place on the all-time Slam title list, one more than Roy Emerson and one below the career record 14 won by Pete Sampras.

“One thing is for sure. I’m not going to stop at 13,” Federer said. “That would be terrible.”

After losing this year’s Wimbledon and French Open finals and his number one ranking to Spain’s Rafael Nadal, Federer’s aura of invincibility had dimmed but his victory Monday served notice he still remains a force in the sport.

“After Wimbledon, after Paris - I had some rough losses those - to come away with the last Slam, to sit on this for four months, it’s unbelievable,” Federer said.

Federer became the first man to win five Slams in a row at two different events, having also completed the feat last year at Wimbledon. No one had won five US titles in a row since Bill Tilden in 1924.

“It definitely feels great,” Federer said. “This is a very special moment in my career. To take this one home is incredible. It means the world to me.”

Swiss second seed Federer stretched his US Open match win streak to 34, his last loss at Flushing Meadows coming to David Nalbandian in the fourth round of 2003, and took home the top prize of 1.5 million dollars. It took Federer 38 Slam appearances to win his 13th Slam, five fewer than Sampras needed to reach the same mark.

It was Federer’s 17th Slam final, two shy of Ivan Lendl’s all-time record.

Federer had not won a prior hardcourt title all season. The last player to make the US Open his first hardcourt crown of a season was Pete Sampras in 2002 in his last Slam victory.

NEW YORK, Tuesday, AFP