NEW YORK—Roger Federer captured a record five consecutive US Open crowns from 2004 to 2008.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion reflected on a pair of title prospects that slipped way.
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It's been 11 years since Federer defeated Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray in succession to win the 2008 title.
Asked what years he felt he should have won, Federer cited his 2009 final loss to Juan Martin del Potro and his 2014 semifinal defeat to Marin Cilic as the two that got away.
"'09 obviously," Federer said. "I don't know which year I lost to Cilic, you know. Things were looking okay there after Novak lost and Nishikori was in the finals and I was in the semis against Cilic. Would have thought that maybe I had a good chance, but Marin came out and just crushed me.
"I think maybe those were my best chances. I don't know about the finals against Novak, and the rest I don't remember. There you have it."
Two points from defeat, del Potro dug in and defied the odds, defeating Federer to win the 2009 US Open title.
Del Potro snapped Fed’s 40-match US Open winning streak and denied his bid to become the first man to win a major six straight times.
Competing in just his fourth Open, the explosive Argentine became the first man to defeat Rafael Nadal and Federer in a Grand Slam tournament.
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