Some Fine Swiss Craftsmanship

Murray, of course, had played 90 minutes of wearying tennis the previous day in completing his rain-interrupted semifinal against Nadal. Federer, by contrast, enjoyed two days of rest, finishing his semifinal on Saturday.

While Murray conceded he would have preferred Federer's situation, he said it wasn't the reason he lost.

"If he played like that, and I was absolutely fresh, it still would have been a very tough match for me to win," said Murray, who called Federer the best in the sport's history.

Federer seemed to take on an aura of invincibility once he stepped onto the Ashe Stadium court, where he has ruled longer than many New York mayors and governors.

The capacity crowd cheered Federer like a returning hero. And the beauty of his strokes, as well as the grace of his movement, made the season's disappointments irrelevant. Yes, Nadal had humiliated Federer at the French Open. Nadal had broken his heart at Wimbledon, too, then snatched his No. 1 ranking on the eve of the U.S. Open.

But the muscular Nadal wasn't the foe across the net. It was the 6-foot-3 Murray -- a dangerous opponent, to be sure, with a rich repertoire of strokes, but one who hadn't been tested in the final of a major.

In many ways, Murray was fortunate the moment didn't come at Wimbledon. The mere fact that he reached the U.S. Open final touched off a mania in Britain, where sports fans have waited since 1936 for one of their own to win a men's major singles title.

The ranks of British media swelled here after Murray reached the semifinals. And newspapers throughout Scotland and England made plans to hold their final editions so they could splash coverage of Murray's triumph, should he pull it off, even though the match didn't start until after 10 p.m. London time.

But Federer's skill and Murray's sub-par effort made for a quick result. At 1 hour 51 minutes, the match was 13 minutes shorter than Sunday's women's final, in which Serena Williams beat Jelena Jankovic in two sets.

It's not that Federer was flawless. He finished with 36 winners and 33 errors; at his best, he hits twice as many winners as errors.

But Federer was exceptional at identifying Murray's weakness and taking advantage. Against Nadal, the Scot had taken full command, blasting 17 aces and storming the net 20 times.

But against Federer, Murray hugged the baseline as if in a fog of uncertainty. Federer was delighted to seize the initiative, and he charged the net 44 times, crediting his newfound appreciation for serve-and-volley tactics to his gold medal doubles performance at the Beijing Olympics.

That was the memory he drew on when the U.S. Open began, he explained later, putting the losses in Paris and Wimbledon out of his mind.

"I came in with good spirits," Federer said. "I guess I stayed on that cloud and kept on going here. The relief was enormous."