Bill Tilden was the last man to do it, when he won his sixth straight Open in 1925. The five time defending champion Federer, who reclaimed his number one ranking from Rafael Nadal after his triumph at Wimbledon in July, is coming into this year’s United States Open in a much altered shape than last year when he was Slam-less and amid whispers that he has lost his aura of invincibility. Yet, he won the title for the fifth consecutive year and since then has reached the Australian Open final and has claimed the French and Wimbledon double in the same year.

After capturing Grand Slam number 14 and 15 this year, which made him the greatest Major Champion ever, Federer is now more relaxed than ever. The doubts have narrowed but Federer's appetite hasn't. On Saturday, at the National Tennis Center, Federer said: ''There's less pressure but I'm as eager to do well. Last year I felt like I had to win. It would have been disappointing not to have won a Slam last year, not having defended my title. Today I find myself No 1 in the world and defending champion. I'm looking forward. I feel physically and mentally fresh.'' And, if the indication on the tennis courts of Cincinnati were to be analysed, then the mighty Swiss will perhaps be right. Federer’s performance in the tournament was warming to the heart as he answered all pleas and arguments by winning the Masters 1000 event by routing World No 2 Andy Murray in the semi-finals and No 4 Novak Djokovic in the Final. And the definite signals are that the world No 1 is back doing what he does best; playing attacking tennis again. For the sport of tennis worldwide, this is great.

The added affirmative approach seems to be born out of the self-belief, which he has attained by winning back to back French Open and Wimbledon titles, beating Pete Sampras’ record of fourteen Majors and reclaiming the world No 1 ranking that was Federer’s possession for a record 237 consecutive weeks. Only he will know whether that is the case. But for the rest of the US Open contenders, it can only come as bad news because it makes the magical Swiss an even hot favourite to win his sixth straight title on the cement of Flushing Meadows.

And this year, the surroundings are going to be even more favourable to him. The courts are going to be quick and the balls are exceedingly fast. The choice to make Wimbledon significantly more medium paced a few years ago means the Open is now the speediest Grand Slam. It's the reason Rafael Nadal has never been happy for the most part when playing at the faster courts of New York because his top spin does not have an enormous impact in the same way, it does on the clay-courts of Roland Garros or the much slower hard courts at the Australian Open.

As Federer -the daddy bids to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win three successive Major championships in a single season, it's his arch-rival, Nadal, who looks to be in need of a boost. It's Nadal who just a moment ago has surrendered the No 1 ranking; he's now No 3 in the world and has been seeded 3 for the tournament and it was Nadal who was not able to defend his Wimbledon title, citing sore knees. But the Spaniard returned to the tour this month, though he acknowledges he's not in peak condition.

However, his return and other top five seeds could make Federer's road to Grand Slam number 16 a bit difficult. Andy Murray, the No 2 seed and a finalist last year; No 4 Novak Djokovic, the 2007 runner-up; and Andy Roddick, the world No 5, have genuine shots at overwhelming Federer. Both Murray and Djokovic have crushed Federer twice this year and Roddick almost beat him at Wimbledon, before falling, 16-14, in the final set.