Federer vows not to stop at 13 after Open win
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Roger Federer won his fifth U.S. Open in a row by beating Briton Andy Murray in the men's final on Monday and said he did not plan on stopping with his career haul of 13 grand slam titles.
"One thing for sure, I'm not going to stop at 13," the Swiss maestro said courtside after celebrating his first grand slam triumph of the year by falling to his knees, rolling over on to his back and covering his eyes with his hands.
The 6-2 7-5 6-2 victory put 27-year-old Federer one grand slam crown away from matching the record total collected by American Pete Sampras.
"It definitely feels great. This is a very special moment in my career," Federer said.
"I had a couple of tough grand slams this year. finishing in semi-finals and two finals, one epic at Wimbledon," said the Swiss, who reached the last four at the Australian Open before losing the French and Wimbledon finals to Rafael Nadal.
"So to take this one home is incredible. It means the world to me."
Federer became the first man to win five U.S. consecutive U.S. titles since American Bill Tilden in 1924.
His run in New York after previously stringing together five straight Wimbledon titles from 2003 to 2007 made him the only player to have won five in a row at two different slams.
The 21-year-old Murray, who was playing in his first grand slam final, saluted second seed Federer.
"I had a great tournament," Murray said before the trophy presentation.
"I came up against, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game. I got the better of him the last two times we played. He definitely set the record straight today, so congratulations. Well done."
Murray, who won the 2004 Open junior title at Flushing Meadows, was asked what he learned from his experience over the championship.
"That I've got a lot of improving to do if I want to win one of these tournaments," the sixth-seeded Scot said.
"I love playing in front of this crowd. I played three matches on Arthur Ashe (centre court) and it's been the best time of my life."
Federer congratulated Murray and said the future of tennis was in good hands.
"You've done great these last couple of weeks," Federer said. "I'm sure we're going to be seeing much more of Andy in the future as well.
"I really feel like tennis is in a great place right now. We have incredible athletes out there at the moment, a lot of fair play and for me, I love playing the tour and I love playing in front of crowds like you guys.
"To make it all the way here is an incredible feeling for us players."
(Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
