"It was hard for me the next three days," said Federer's father, Robert. "I suffered. There's this pressure on you that you don't feel is nice. But the thing I like about Roger is how relaxed he is and how even his life is."

Not every one believed Federer when he said that he was staying positive and knew that his time would come again. But though he has been on court on so many occasions during the past five years, he was correct in gauging his own level after smoking Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 for his fifth successive U.S. Open crown and a 13th Grand Slam title, while raising a glass of his champagne to himself.

"I played great," Federer said. "I felt like I was invincible for a while again, and that's exactly how you sort of want to finish a tournament."

Whether Federer's 2008 slump was mental, physical or both, it was very real. A bad case of mono and a charged-up Novak Djokovic took him out of the Australian Open, and then Nadal thumped him once again in Paris and stunned him in London. At the Beijing Olympics, he moved slowly and framed balls against James Blake, even though he did manage to win the doubles. In between, there were a few losses to some men whom he would have spun around last year.

"The French Open loss was brutal, but I got over that one pretty easily, played great on the grass and had a really tough loss at Wimbledon, which I was proud to be part of such a great match, but at the same time it sort of made me sad, not having won that great epic match," he said. "Maybe I was always dreaming about it and not winning it. But I was always positive. I lost quite a few matches I should have never lost, and they hurt."

The Swiss did not come into New York as the flat-out favorite, only among the top favorites. He had to show that he could still produce blinding shots, still face down the youngsters at crunch time, still design strategies that his body and mind could respond to. And he did, although it didn't come easy.

He needed five scratchy sets to repel Igor Andreev in the fourth round and it took Federer until the semifinals to trot out his top level, but once he did, no player had the goods to keep his foot off the pedal in his drive for five. He hit through and around Djokovic, running gamely with him and intercepting his most hard-thrown passes.

Then came Murray in the final, who looked prepared to come of age with his grit, guts and high variety game that had earned him a 2-1 record against Federer entering the match. But like the other men who Federer stung in U.S. Open finals — Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Djokovic — Murray seemed a step slower, a little out of place, trying to fit the wrong key into the front door of Federer's house.

Federer served huge down the middle and twisted high kickers to the corners. His forehand was world-class again, crosscourt and inside out, and as much as Murray tried to flatten out his own wing and match the Swiss, Federer's balls flew through the concrete with more venom. He mixed up his backhand brilliantly, continued to charge the net even though he missed a number of negotiable volleys. He chipped, charged and ripped returns.

Murray only dug into the match once, coming back from a 0-2 deficit in the second set and clawing his way to 5-6. But serving at 5-6, the Swiss charged hard and kissed every corner of the court, winning the set when he raced up to a Murray drop shot and slapped a forehand pass down the line.

Federer caps off disappointing year with Open title Matt Cronin / Special to FOXSports.com 122 days ago   NEW YORK - It must have been devastating for Roger Federer, even though he is one of the most even-tempered, intelligent players ever created. His five-title streak at Wimbledon was gone, snatched away in gloomy darkness by his chief rival, Rafael Nadal, who would soon be crowned the new king of his sport. He was no longer impenetrable, no more a wand-waving magician having fallen at three consecutive Grand Slams. Some thought he might mimic Bjorn Borg's career after John McEnroe stopped the Swede's Wimbledon streak at five — a slow slide to oblivion. 2008 U.S. Open U.S. Open Central Results: | Murray wins | | Men | | | Women | | | Men | | Men Day 4: Ivanovic ousted | 3: Men | Women Day 2: Men | Women | | Analysis: Cronin: Federer's back in the mix Pierce: One thing missing for Federer Cronin: Serena's hard work pays off Others: PHOTOS: Men's final | Women's final | Day 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 PHOTOS: U.S. Open fashion Singles draws: Men's | Women's Results: Men Women | Ranks | Schedule Partners: Tennis Week: Analysis, video and more Richard's Court: Inside the tennis world

Andy Murray seemed a step slower and a little out of place against Roger Federer. ( Kathy Willens / Associated Press)

The match was essentially over there, as the despondent Scot fell behind 5-0. He managed to creep back to 5-3, but then Federer put the hammer down and won the match when he leapt into a backhand crosscourt winner.

He then slid to his back and celebrated wildly.

When the two hugged at the net, Murray had a message for him.

"He told me that it was a great tournament for me, and I said that I agreed with everyone that he's had a terrible year," Murray said with a laugh. "Making the semis of Australia, final of the French, the final at Wimbledon, playing one of the best matches of all time winning a gold medal (in doubles) and obviously winning the U.S. Open. I told him that he had a phenomenal year, regardless of what anyone said."

Federer became the first man since Bill Tilden in 1924 to triumph five times in a row at the U.S. Open and the first man in history to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open on five straight occasions. With 13 Grand Slams, he's one within Pete Sampras' all time record of 14 and it's hard to believe that at age 27, he won't pass him.

"It's nice to compare five Wimbledons to five U.S. Opens, no doubt. Not many guys — nobody can do that," said a smiling Federer, who spent a good 20 minutes on the court after the trophy presentation celebrating with his friends, family and yes, fans. "I'm quite proud obviously of my achievement. It's been a tough summer. Now, getting the fifth U.S. Open, it really means a lot to me. And losing my No. 1 ranking, that's also what meant a lot to me this season. So to bounce back straightaway after losing the No. 1 ranking, this is the best scenario ever."

If and when Federer ties Sampras, there will be little debate as to who the greatest player ever is, because the Swiss has been just as good if not better on hardcourts and grass, and even though he's never won Roland Garros, he's been a whole lot better on clay. Murray tabbed Federer as the best that's ever been.

"In the big tournaments, he never has early losses. He's been so dominant in terms of ranking for the last five years, even when I think Nadal might get very close to winning the same amount of Slams as Federer and Sampras. Even when someone as good as him is right behind him, he's still a long way ahead in points, and it's only been until this year that Nadal has caught up to him.

"Five years of dominance, the runs here and at Wimbledon, winning five in a row, and even at the French, he's definitely a better clay court player than Sampras. He's coming up against definitely the best clay court player of all time in Nadal. There's a very strong argument for him being the best player."

Murray added that Federer has at least four more years to be at the top of his game, which might be a bit of stretch, but given that he almost never gets injured, you would have to concede Federer has at least three more terrific seasons.

The youngsters have come at him hard this year, with three of them reaching the U.S. Open semifinals, the two 21-year-olds in No. 3 Djokovic and No. 4 Murray, and the new No. 1 in the 22-year-old Nadal, who ruled the roost from early April through September 7, until Murray finally stopped him cold in New York.

But now, Federer is clearly back in the mix. It's unlikely that he'll end the year at No. 1 as Nadal would have to completely fall apart in order for him to do so, but he held that spot for long enough. It's adding more majors that will satisfy him the most.

"I would have been disappointed losing today and having three finals and one semis of Slams," he said. "You feel like you missed an entire year, being so close but yet so far, because semis and finals don't help me a whole lot anymore in my career. It's all about the wins, and that's why this is huge. This is massive, and I'm very, very happy. It's a different type of flavor, this one, to me, no doubt."

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