Well, as I thought and wrote earlier, Andy Murray made it to the US Open men's final but was overwhelmed by Roger Federer - and also a little by the grand stage.

As a Fedex fan, I still don't know when Roger started playing like his old self, but in the end he prevailed in straight sets 6-2 7-5 6-2 and that's heart-warming for all Federer fans.

At the same time can you think of any other player who one minute makes you feel like you are on a high-speed rollercoaster ride and the next you are hitting a low before being taken back to the heights again?

I mean, come on Roger, we knew that you should have taken the third set 6-0, but why did you scare us by letting it drift to 6-2! This is the part I seriously question: Why is Roger still not closing out like he should? Anyone would be expected to tighten up at such a special time, but we are used to seeing Federer play crucial points without being affected mentally, physically and emotionally. The current Roger is a bit scary.

But let's enjoy the victory. Roger has become the first player to win five consecutive titles in two Grand Slam events; his undefeated streak since 2004 in the US Open is still intact; he is the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the tournament five times in a row (hopefully he will take the next two titles and surpass Bill), and he is now just one title shy of beating Pete Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slams.

In fact, as I write, I notice that 91 per cent of more than 6,000 people polled on Fox Sports said that he will break Pete's record in 2009, and we all know that he will. For a bad year, he's won a Slam, was finalist in two others, made the semis in the fourth, and has an Olympic doubles gold medal to boot.

Yet this year I've felt a slight vacuum when it comes to his closing skills. I still feel trepidation when he's up by a good margin against an opponent. I do think his decision-making has been questionable this year, and that reflects in his volleys going long or wide or his drop shots missing the mark. Even the US final match stats are revealing:

                                                 Murray            Federer
  1st Serve %                            56%                  59%
  Aces                                          3                       3
  Double Faults                          3                       0
  Unforced Errors                      28                     33
  Winning % 1st Serve             51%                 79%
  Winning % 2nd Serve            47%                 45%
  Winners                                   16                     36
  Receiving Points Won           35%                  51%
  Break Point Conversions      40%                  70%
  Net Approaches                     64%                  70%
  Total Points Won                    68                      94
  Fastest Serve                     133mph            126mph
  Avg. 1st Serve Speed         108mph            114mph
  Avg. 2nd Serve Speed         82mph              92mph

It's interesting to see that Murray was pretty much up there, but Federer's first serve gave him the edge, coupled with 26 more winners and that made the difference. I'd like to see his overall stats looking better and the number of unforced errors coming down.

I just hope that 2009 will be the "back to the real Fedex" year in a big way. But, all in all, we couldn't have asked more of this great athlete than to close out the year on a winning note.