US Open: Why is it so difficult to win a second grand slam?
The men’s US Open final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal was played in humid and blistering temperatures at Flushing Meadows at the end of July. A crowd of 10,631 watched the duel between two of the game’s dominant players. It was a match that would go down in the annals of tennis history as one of the greatest ever played.
And yet while the fans were delighted with the spectacle, so too was the player, as Nadal announced his retirement from the sport with a win. Nadal ended with a record-breaking 18 Grand Slam titles, but Federer stood victorious at the last, coming out on top of the match 6-2 6-3, 2-6-6, 6-4, 6-3.
And in the weeks after the triumph, there has been a lot of questions about why the Swiss has been so long to win a second title on the grass of Flushing Meadows. In doing so, he has won six Grand Slam titles in singles and four in doubles. But at just 29 years of age and with a brilliant record of 14 Grand Slam titles to his name, Federer had a lot to prove.
Why was it so tough to win a second Grand Slam title? And with so many questions over the years, what can we learn from Federer’s path to success?
The’souvenir’ factor
It is a match that will live on in the memory of tennis greats and a tennis legacy that will be talked about for years to come. Federer was at his peak as a player; with one of the finest serves ever seen: a speed of about 129 miles per hour that would have the best serve in tennis, and one of the best serves in history. He reached the 100-m speed mark nine times in the match, and was the only player to hit 100-m serve at that speed since 1973, when Stefan Edberg achieved the feat.
Federer’s serve was just incredible.
It was a match in which everything went his way when Federer had the