Federer hits 50
MASON, Ohio — The translucent trophy is headed for a glassed-covered showcase in Switzerland, the one that has expanded along with Roger Federer's collection of crystal prizes.
The latest one will never get lost in the crowd.
The Swiss star reached another measure of tennis greatness on Sunday, winning his 50th tournament championship. He hoisted another crystal trophy after his 6-1, 6-4 victory over James Blake in the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters.
Soon, it will be added to the trophy case at his home in Oberwil, Switzerland.
"It's grown to about office size," Federer said. "I have — what do you call it when it's behind the glass? You don't have to dust them off all the time."
Good thinking. It gives him more time to concentrate on dusting off opponents.
Few have ever done it so well.
At age 26, Federer is the fifth-youngest player to reach 50 tournament titles, and only the ninth overall in the Open Era since 1968.
"It's not a goal I set for myself in my career, but it's definitely a nice number to get to, especially in terms of titles," Federer said. "It's really a lot, you know, so it's great."
There could be a lot more to come. Given the way he played on Sunday, nobody would be surprised if the U.S. Open yields trophy No. 51.
The higher the stakes, the better he plays.
Federer struggled early in the week and needed a pair of three-set victories to reach the title match against Blake, a 27-year-old American playing in only his second Masters Series championship.
Once Federer got there, he was vintage.
"Just about everything he does is pretty impressive," Blake said. "So, yeah, 50 titles at any age is impressive. Fifty titles at 26 is incredible."
Dressed in all-white on a muggy, 92-degree afternoon, Federer extended his mastery of Blake — and all Americans, for that matter.
Federer improved to 7-0 against Blake, who has won only one of their 19 sets, off a tiebreaker in the semifinals at the U.S. Open last year. He's not the only hard-hitting American who can't figure out how to handle's Federer's overall excellence.
Federer has won 35 straight matches against Americans since he lost to Andy Roddick in the semifinals at Montreal on Aug. 9, 2003.
