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August 24, 2007
Federer wary of Nadal threat at U.S. Open
By Simon Cambers, Reuters
NEW YORK - Roger Federer goes into next
week's U.S. Open as the overwhelming favourite as he bids to
become the first man in the modern era to win the title for a
fourth consecutive time.
But though he is high on confidence after winning his 50th
career title in Cincinnati last weekend, the world number one
has one name nagging away at him.
Rafael Nadal.
Victory in New York would not only make Federer the first
man since American Bill Tillden in the 1920s to win four titles
in succession, it would also see him win three of the four
grand-slam events for the third time in four years.
A 12th grand-slam crown is also on the line for Federer,
just two short of the record held by Pete Sampras.
Nadal ended any hope of a Federer grand slam by beating him
in the French Open final and pushed him to five sets in the
final at Wimbledon. The Swiss had no doubts about who will be
his main rival over the next two weeks.
"Even though now people talk about (Novak) Djokovic, for me
Nadal is better, a lot better to be honest," Federer told
Reuters in an interview.
"If I don't win the U.S. Open I expect him to win it."
Djokovic beat both Nadal and Federer to win the Montreal
Masters the week before Cincinnati but Federer said the
Spaniard was a cut above the rest.
IMPRESSIVE STUFF
Federer said Nadal was being underestimated, especially by
the media.
"There's no such thing as a specialist on clay now. Maybe
it's your best surface but then you can always play well on the
hard courts, and even grass today," he said.
"That's why I am not surprised at all at how good he is --
what has surprised me that at his young age, he's been able to
do it for so long.
"That's impressive stuff and something that I wasn't able
to do. That's why I have high respect for him.
"It's almost impossible for him to be as dominant on hard
courts as he is on clay because hard courts is just a different
ball game, but it (his main rival) is Nadal."
After equalling Bjorn Borg's record of five consecutive
Wimbledon titles in July, Federer took a brief rest and then
set to work in the heat of Dubai to prepare for the summer.
"I'm very happy that my hard work paid off in Dubai, right
away," he said.
"Taking a break right after Wimbledon is nice, for my
private life, for my mental part, for the physical strain I
went through from the claycourt season and the grass, but then
at the same time you'd like to carry over your confidence into
another tournament.
"That's why it's always important to play well right away
-- to forget about Wimbledon and look forward. I've had my best
summer actually, playing in the finals (in Montreal) and
winning (in Cincinnati), so hopefully I can keep it up at the
Open."
The top seed will meet qualifiers in both the first two
rounds in New York, but Federer said he was wary of every
opponent.
"Everybody knows that a qualifier can be tough because he
could make his break," he said.
"Ok, people wouldn't expect me to lose in the first round
to someone ranked 150 or 200 in the world but it has happened
in the past, so you have to always be wary.
"I've been on a great run at grand slams and best-of-five
sets should favour me, but with the knockout system you never
know."
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