Smash hit

Roddick took a break to clear his head, but immediately walked to the wrong end of the court to receive serve. Could he possibly make a fist of it? You bet he could. He saved a break point in the sixth game with a 126mph serve into the Federer midriff, though he was having to hang tough because the Swiss dropped only two points on serve in the entire set, holding him in positive stead for the tie-break. He led 5-1 in it and he would not be quite as lax as Roddick had been.

Federer had never lost a grand-slam tournament final from two sets to one up. Roddick could not care a jot for such statistics. His body ached for this and when he broke Federer to lead 3-1 in the fourth set, he physically shook, his arms pumping, his torso galvanised. He hung tough again, as Federer peppered further aces at him and served out for the set from love-30 down in the ninth game.

Serving first in the final set is a wonderful advantage. Federer led 5-4 and from that moment on, Roddick had to serve 11 times to stay in the match. Imagine that. He succeeded in ten of them, but it was clear, when he stepped out for the 30th game of the set and an hour and a half after it had begun, that Roddick was suffering just a bit.

There were a couple of tired-looking serves, the leap in the legs did not seem to be there, he was love-30 down, fighting back to 30-all and had a point to bring it level again. The spirit was willing, the backhand was weak. Then his forehand cracked. He was Championship point down. His forehand cracked again; Federer was ten feet off the ground, in joyous acclaim.

Roddick went back to his chair, dropped his racket at his feet and stared at the ground, to be roused by shouts of “Roddick, Roddick”. Not even in New York, at home, where he won his ground-breaking first grand-slam title in 2003, had the crowd reacted to him so. He rose and applauded them back. One hoped that at home, the Americans were raising their chilled beers to him. He had been heroic, he had been human, he had given all he had.

Federer was about to raise the cup again. Glory, glory to the champion. Roddick had lost, but he hadn’t really.