Roger Federer hopes to mark the 10th anniversary of his first US Open title with a sixth triumph in New York and become the oldest Grand Slam champion in more than 40 years.
In an astonishing reversal of fortunes, the 33-year-old, written off as a relic of the game when he slipped to a fourth round loss to Tommy Robredo 12 months ago, finds himself perfectly positioned to win a staggering 18th major.
Buoyed by claiming a sixth Cincinnati title – his 80th career crown – and a runner-up showing in Toronto, and with long-time rival Rafael Nadal again sidelined with injury, the Swiss is relishing the twilight of his career.
“I was scared to have another setback, and so it was just not as clear-cut and simple as it is this year,” said second-seeded Federer, who faces Australia’s Marinko Matosevic in the first round of what will be his 64th consecutive Grand Slam.
“This year I played a lot of good matches. Not just Toronto and Cincinnati, but really from the first week on I have played really nice tennis.
“You almost forget how to lose, to a point, and confidence rises. You’re back to winning ways again and everything seems so simple. I’m looking forward to this tournament, because I feel like I can play a great tournament. I hope I can show that on the court this year.”
Djokovic, the 2011 champion and who has featured in the last four finals, heads into the US Open with two dispiriting third round losses in Toronto and Cincinnati.
The 27-year-old Serb, recently married, has also had to bat back accusations that he is distracted by impending fatherhood.
“I wanted to do better in Canada and Cincinnati. Unfortunately I wasn’t even close to my best. But, you know, a lot of things happened in the last two months, and it was a very emotional period,” said Djokovic, who plays Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman in today’s first round. “I just felt a little bit flat on the court. I wasn’t managing to find that intensity and the perfect mindset.”
Despite recent hiccups, Djokovic’s record at majors is impressive – the last time he failed to make at least the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam was at the 2009 French Open.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray, the 2012 champion, has not reached a final of any description since his historic 2013 Wimbledon triumph.
Now down at nine in the world, the 27-year-old has not got beyond the quarter-finals of any tournament since his morale-sapping semi-final loss to Nadal at the French Open where the Spaniard allowed him just six games.
“This year would be the best prepared I have been coming into a slam. I got a great training block over in Miami done, so physically I’m where I would want to be. My body is pain-free, which is good,” insisted Murray whose first round foe is Robin Haase of the Netherlands.
With 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro still sidelined by injury, the much-vaunted next generation will get another opportunity to shine. But they remain works in progress.
Canada’s Milos Raonic, the world number six, was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon and Cincinnati where he was swept aside in straight sets on both occasions by Federer.
Fellow 23-year-old Grigor Dimitrov, the world number eight, has three titles to his name in 2014 but lost out to Djokovic in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
