Bud Collins

NEW YORK - Those who didn't get to see the U.S. Open men's singles final missed a rising star, third-seeded Novak Djokovic, taking his best shot at toppling the world No. 1 Roger Federer, and trying to keep the Swiss master from winning his fourth-consecutive title at this hard court major -- a feat last accomplished over 40 years ago.

Djokovic fell short in his quest, but he didn't make it easy on Federer, even though the result read a triumph in straight sets, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4.

Federer found himself in a title match where his 20-year-old opponent had more than a few chances to pull off an upset. That didn't happen, and Djokovic didn't win a set, but there's absolutely no doubt the reigning king of men's tennis encountered and survived a close call.

Open the book on the history of men's tennis and you'll need to dig all the way back to the great Bill Tilden to find the last player to win four consecutive titles at this major. Tilden won six U.S. Nationals between 1920 and 1925.

A champion's resolve on display
What made Federer’s win over Djokovic so entertaining is that the Swiss wasn’t exactly the usual Federer Express in securing the title.

Federer had to really show what he is made of and he did so in grand style. In his first final at a major, Djokovic led 6-5 in each of the opening two sets. Opportunity knocked, and it knocked loudly for him, so loudly it could have been heard back in his hometown of Belgrade, Serbia.

In the first set Djokovic held five set points. In the second, he held two, but Federer came through magnificently when facing these crucial challenges. Why did he come through these tenuous moments? It's a simple answer. Federer has superior nerves, superior concentration, and he just doesn’t lose these all-important points. A champion of his caliber defines clutch play. That definition came up seven times over in the first two sets against the Serb.

Who knows what would have happened if it went Djokovic's way on those points instead of Federer's. Maybe Djokovic would be the 2007 U.S. Open champion. But Federer just doesn’t allow himself to fail in such situations because he’s a superior fighter and doesn’t get rattled.

In contrast, Djokovic is an excellent talent, but a little bit green on experience, especially in finals of Grand Slam events. He tried a little too hard on those seismic points, and couldn’t convert on the opportunities. That indicated that while Djokovic has great game and amazing potential, he’s not quite ready for prime-time in pro tennis -- that being spelled out by not only playing in the final of major, but taking home the title that's at stake.

What Swiss needs to be greatest player ever
The U.S. Open is just one huge stage on which Federer headlines, and on which his star overshadows that of any other player on the men's tour. Four straight crowns at Flushing Meadows is just part of what is filling up perhaps what will become the resume of all-time greatness in the sport. Federer's won the last five Wimbledon titles along with three of the last four Australian Opens. He hasn't yet won the French Open, but has made the final four in Paris the last three years, and lost the title match the last two -- both of those defeats to Rafael Nadal.

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Federer's the first man in history to win back-to-back Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles for four consecutive years. With his latest U.S. Open championship, the 26-year-old Federer moved ahead of Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver on the career list for most majors won. He drew even with Roy Emerson for second place, two away from the all-time leader Pete Sampras with 14.

If he stays healthy and there crop up no unexpected difficulties or declines in his game, Federer will soon move past Sampras and become the man with the most majors won over a career. And by the time the Swiss is done playing, he may very well have shored up a record for Grand Slam events won that would seem unassailable. After all, at this U.S. Open, Federer has talked of competing for another nine or ten years.

As the curtain lowered on this U.S. Open all were once again singing the praises of Federer, prompting -- and certainly not for the first time -- the question of whether Federer is the greatest player of all-time. My response to that is -- not yet. That fellow named Laver won two Grand Slams -- for those not familiar with what a Grand Slam is, it's taking the titles at the four majors -- the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open -- in a calendar year. Laver did such in 1962 and 1969.

There's no denying Federer his rightful place as an all-time great -- there’s no doubt he's achieved that status. He’s just not the all-time greatest player in the sport -- at least not yet. He has a great opportunity to become the best of all-time, but for me to anoint him that status he'll have to win at least one Grand Slam. He can do it -- no one should doubt that.

Federer should keep in mind that Laver was 31 when he won the second of his two Grand Slams so the Swiss definitely has time on his side to make that happen. It's quite intriguing that there are two guys -- Djokovic and Nadal -- who are now nipping at Federer's heels when it comes to winning majors. No one stays on top of the men's pro tennis mountain forever, so Federer's realizes that his reach for tennis immortality is already underway, and will soon not only be battling Djokovic, Nadal, and maybe some others, but most importantly an opponent of us all -- Father Time.

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