After Federer took the first set 6-2, Murray scratched up his knuckles by pounding them on his strings. But he managed to take the second set to a tiebreak, where he reached set point first but was unable to close it out. At 6-6, Murray made a crucial error when he challenged Federer’s serve after easily putting the ball back in play. As soon as he called for the challenge, he spotted the mark that showed the serve had landed on the line. Murray fell to his knees before Hawkeye confirmed his mistake. The Scot fought off match point once again before losing the match on a double fault.


Despite the disappointing finish, Murray thought he did well under challenging circumstances this week. “I had a long couple of weeks. This was my ninth match in, I don’t know, 13 or 14 days. Every single match, I played in the heat of the day. Not one day did I play a night match,” he said. “I played seven very solid matches, and then yesterday and today weren’t so good. I don’t know if that’s a mental fatigue thing or not. It’s been perfect preparation for the US Open.”

Federer gave an assist to his previous two opponents, David Ferrer and Lleyton Hewitt, for letting him come into form. “Both baseliners – [they] gave me better rhythm for the semifinals today. Maybe last week I wouldn’t have been so consistent off the baseline yet because I came through different type of players,” he said.

Djokovic and Nadal took the court at night, and the Serbian quickly doused the crowd’s hope of a Rafa-Roger final. Djokovic hammered groundstrokes into the corners and took the baseline away from Nadal, pushing the Spaniard into a defensive position several feet behind the court. Nadal had no answer for his opponent’s aggression, and the match was finished in just over 90 minutes, 6-1, 6-4.


Even though the loss ended Nadal’s chance of regaining the World No. 2 ranking this week, he showed no signs of disappointment. “He played really good with a very good intensity during all the match. I am happy with everything: happy to be here and happy to be more ready for the US Open than what I expected before [I] came to this American tour,” the Spaniard commented.


Sunday

Fans had high hopes for a competitive final after only one three-set match in the quarterfinals and semifinals (Murray’s lackluster win over Julian Benneteau on Friday). They thrilled to a high level of play by both players at the start of the match. Federer went to his bag of magic tricks early – in the second game, he snuck to the net the instant Djokovic turned his back to retrieve a shot, and the Swiss easily knocked off a volley en route to his first of two breaks in the first set, which he won 6-1 in 33 minutes.


Djokovic gave the crowd hope for a better match by breaking early in the second set, earning a break point after ending a long, quiet rally with a driving down-the-line backhand delivered with an intense sound effect. But the Serbian saw his 3-0 lead evaporate as Federer kept the winners coming. At 5-5, the top seed produced a thrilling display of turning defense to offense, as he scrambled to put up a backhand lob, then returned his opponent’s smash as a driving forehand to Djokovic’s feet. Soon after, Federer turned his first match point into his first Masters 1000 title and
North American hardcourt title of the year.


“Of course I was going to be confident after winning, you know, those big titles in a row,” Federer said after the match, referring to his two summer Grand Slam victories. “And the hard work I put in between Wimbledon and Montreal – people don’t know about that, but things went great. I knew when I was coming over here it was not just to show up but really do something. That it already paid off so quickly, I’m a bit surprised.”


More photos from the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters Tennis Tournament.
Photos: Megan Fernandez