Novak Djokovic may have given Roger Federer a few worrying moments in Sunday's US Open final, but the world No. 1 still considers Rafael Nadal his biggest threat.
The Swiss star became the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win four-straight US Open titles in defeating the fast-rising 20-year-old Serb 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2), 6-4.
Asked afterwards if this was the start of a Federer-Djokovic rivalry to go with the already established Federer-Nadal rivalry, Federer said it was too early to make such a comparison.
PHOTO: AP
"If a rivalry comes along, great, but so far we haven't played many times in the finals of tournaments," the world No. 1 said.
"It's always been quarter-finals, last 16. Now we've had two finals back-to-back. That always helps the rivalry. But I still obviously consider the one I have with Nadal much more serious at the moment," he said.
The statistics bear Federer out.
While his win in Sunday's final gives him a 5-1 winning record over Djokovic, Federer still trails the 21-year-old Nadal 5-8, even though most of these reverses have come on the Spaniard's favorite claycourt surface.
And it is Nadal that has stood firmly in the way of Federer completing the Grand Slam of tennis that only Rod Laver and Don Budge have previously achieved.
For the last two years, Federer has won three of the four Grand Slam titles, but lost the French Open on both occasions to Nadal.
Still, he says that at 26 he has several years ahead of him and feels driven by the new players coming onto the scene.
"Honestly I've enjoyed the challenge of young guys challenging me," he said.
"This is probably my biggest motivation out there ... seeing them challenge me, beating them in the final. It's really for me the best feeling," Federer said.
Federer also says he has finally come to love playing in the US Open.
While Wimbledon will always be dearest to his heart, the US Open is now close behind.
"New York has definitely grown on me the last few years," he said after his win over the fast-emerging Serbian.
"I think especially since that famous final against Agassi [in 2005] here a few years ago, I started to really love this tournament. I realize what kind of a big-time event this is, with 24,000 people in the stadium, the city. Just the difficulty to win here. I wasn't aware of it in the very beginning when I came on tour really," he said.
Next up for Federer will be playing Davis Cup for his country against the Czech Republic in a World Group relegation battle later this month.
After that, he will head out to Asia for the season-ending Masters Finals in Shanghai and a series of exhibitions against the player who preceded him as the world's best, Pete Sampras.
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