US Open: Roger Federer's 5 most memorable match wins at Flushing Meadows
The US Open is the third Grand Slam tournament where Roger Federer has triumphed at least 5 times (Wimbledon - 9 and Australian Open - 6), making him the only player in the Open Era do so.
Federer is a record five-time champion at the US Open, along with Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors. The Swiss won his five US Open titles on the trot, from 2004 to 2008, which is an Open Era record for most consecutive titles at the last Grand Slam of the year.
20-time Grand Slam champion Federer's 85 match wins at Flushing Meadows is only dwarfed by fellow five-time US Open winner Connors' tally of 98.
After a modest 11-4 record in his first four appearances at the tournament, Federer embarked on a stunning 40-match win streak, racking up five successive titles between 2004 and 2008, before being stopped by Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro in five sets in the 2009 title match.
The next best streaks of consecutive match wins at the US Open are Ivan Lendl's 27 wins between 1985 and 1988, and John McEnroe's 26 victories between 1979 and 1982.
Following his five straight titles at Wimbledon, Federer became the first player in the Open Era to win 5 consecutive titles at successive Grand Slam tournaments, when he triumphed over first-time Grand Slam finalist Andy Murray in the 2008 US Open final.
Since Federer's 2008 triumph, no other player has managed to successfully defend his title at the US Open. In this intervening period, six different players (Del Potro, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Murray, Cilic and Wawrinka) have lifted the title at Flushing Meadows.
On the cusp of Federer's record-equaling 18th appearance as a seeded player at the US Open next week, let us relive the 5-time champion's 5 most memorable match wins at the last Grand Slam of the year.
#1 2000 1R Federer beats Wessels 4-6 4-6 6-3 7-5 3-4 RET.
On his US Open debut in 2000, 19-year-old Federer faced Peter Wessels in the first round. The Swiss teenager lost the first two sets and in the fourth set was a point away from a first round exit at a Grand Slam for the fourth time in six appearances.
To his credit though, Federer rallied to save the match point and took the fourth set to force a decider. At 4-3 in the fifth set, Wessels retired due to an injury, giving the Swiss a win on his debut at the the last Grand Slam of the year.
It was the first time in a Grand Slam, and the third time in his young career, that Federer had saved a match point en route to a win.
The Swiss has since racked up 84 more victories and five titles to close to within 13 wins of Connors' record of most match wins (98) at the US Open.