Federer targets record sixth title as US Open starts today

World number one never doubted his return to the summit of men’s tennis.

NEW YORK: Roger Federer aims to cap his dramatic renaissance by winning six US Open titles when the season’s last Grand Slam begins today.

World number one Federer currently has five titles, a mark he shares with US legends Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors, an equal-best performance in the Open era. Having just turned 31, Federer is back at world number one thanks to a record-equalling seventh Wimbledon title, his 17th Grand Slam trophy. He was a silver medallist at the Olympics and has six tour titles in total this year, a statistic capped by a record fifth Cincinnati Masters where he swept past Novak Djokovic in the final.

“There have been a lot of sacrifices,” said Federer. “I took some time to assess the situation and how should I move forward. It has been a great last 12 months. I always did believe that if things turned for the better for me I was always going to be very near to world number one. I wasn’t far off. You have to be patient sometimes and just keep working hard and believing that what you’re doing is the right thing as well.”

Djokovic, the Australian Open winner and defending champion in New York, is hitting form at the right time – his runner-up spot in Cincinnati came on the back of a Toronto Masters triumph seven days earlier. The draw has also favoured him – he can only meet either Federer or third-seeded Olympic champion Andy Murray in the final.

“I feel this energy, I love playing in this tournament. Twice I played the final, semi-finals, and won eventually the title in 2011,” said Djokovic. “It’s incredible and a very unique feeling to come back to New York as defending champion. It’s one of the most exciting cities in the world.”

Serena is favourite: Sharapova

Meanwhile, in the women’s draw, Maria Sharapova believes American Serena Williams is favourite for the title.

“Of course she’s the favourite because she won those two big events back to back,” said Sharapova.     “She gained a tremendous amount of confidence at Wimbledon, getting through a few tough three-set matches and then when she got to the Olympics, she just improved.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2012.