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NEW YORK -- The numbers are not the sort that Roger Federer likes to see beside his name. One of them -- his age, 32 -- he cannot control. The other -- his ranking, No. 7 -- he insists he can. "People are going to say what they like," Federer said Saturday, two days before his first-round match at the U.S. Open. "Important is that I concentrate on my game and that the passion is there, that I work the right way, that Im prepared, and that I feel like I can win a tournament." The five-time U.S. Open champion is seeded seventh, the biggest number next to his name at a Grand Slam tournament since 2003, the year he started on his record-setting run of 17 majors. In June, Federer exited Wimbledon in the second round, the earliest hed been dismissed from a major tournament since the 2003 French Open. Starting with that loss, his season has included a steady diet of defeats that would have once been considered freakish and a withdrawal from a tournament that went unexplained. All these factors point toward an obvious conclusion: Age is taking its toll on the most decorated mens player ever. Not since Pete Sampras captured the trophy in 2002 has a man over 30 won the U.S. Open. But Federer doesnt envision quite such a grim picture. A bad back that might help explain some of his summer doldrums is no longer bothering him. A new racket that confounded him over the summer has been shelved for the time being. His ranking, and corresponding seeding, may have dropped from third to seventh in the nine weeks between Wimbledon and the Open, where his first-round match is against 61st-ranked Grega Zemlja, but Federer considers himself fit enough to contend. "Now I can really say Im really just focused on the point for point, and thats why Im not concerned," he said. "My back problem is not that major. I just need to make sure I dont have any bad moments in the future." He would love to wipe away most of this 2013 season. He has a grand total of one tournament title, won at a small event in Halle, Germany -- a grass-court tune-up for Wimbledon. In addition to his second-round Wimbledon loss to 116th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky, Federer has fallen to No. 114 Federico Delbonis and No. 55 Daniel Brands, the sort of players who used to feel beaten by Federer before they even walked on the court. That air of invincibility is gone, and small cracks in a once-impenetrable facade have cropped up. Federer withdrew in Montreal early this month without giving a reason, though he had been complaining about his back through the summer. He expanded on his health Saturday, saying the back was no problem as he heads into this, his 58th appearance at a major. "At times, I was playing a lot, having it in the back of my mind, and that has definitely affected me sometimes with my movement ... and actually not being able to really focus on the point for point mentality that you want to have out on the tennis court," Federer said. "So now, I can really say Im really just focused on the point for point, and thats why Im not concerned. " Federer had been working with a new, slightly larger racket, but was unable to figure out the nuances of the prototype and decided to shelve the experiment until after the U.S. Open is over. "I just said, You know, Ill go back to the racket I know and the racket I have won everything with," Federer said. Novak Djokovic, the man occupying the No. 1 spot that Federer once owned, (He was seeded No. 1 at 18 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments from 2004-08) calls the ups and downs with the rankings simply a cycle of life. "You cant always expect somebody to be at the highest level," Djokovic said. "Its normal to go up and down. Thats why this sport is so very demanding, physically, mentally, emotionally. In any way you turn it around, the sport is actually asking from a tennis player everything, you know, all the commitment possible from every aspect." Federer insists his commitment has never waned, even if his ranking has. He says this takes him back to his younger days, in his early 20s, when he used to get excited at the prospect of what the new rankings would look like each Monday. "Usually, I was more excited that it was going up," Federer said. "The older you get, the less you pay attention to it. But nevertheless, I clearly want to move up from here." Terry McLaurin Jersey . -- Theres something about playing on Orlandos floor lately that seems to bring out the best in the Dallas Mavericks. Charley Taylor Jersey . Jeter doubled high off the left-field wall and scored on Jacoby Ellsburys first hit in pinstripes in the fifth. Hiroki Kuroda (1-1) pitched 6 1-3 sharp innings in the Yankees 112th opener in New York. In what manager Joe Girardi said would be a season-long lovefest for Jeter, the shortstop was cheered every step of the way by an adoring crowd of 48, 142 -- even when his double-play grounder back to Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez (0-2) scored Solarte in the third inning for the first run. http://www.cheapredskinsjerseysauthentic.com/. Both of Padakins goals came in the second period while Zane Jones added a single in the first period for Calgary (13-6-4). Hitmen goaltender Chris Driedger finished with 30 saves for the shutout. Redskins Jerseys China Cheap . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. Doug Williams Jersey .com) - Devin Booker scored 19 points and top-ranked Kentucky put on a defensive clinic in an 83-44 obliteration of UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic.DETROIT - Helio Castroneves has won the pole for the first race of the Detroit Grand Prix doubleheader. The Brazilian heads into Saturday afternoons race coming off a close runner-up finish to Ryan Hunter-Reay in the Indianapolis 500. Castroneves has two victories at Belle Isle, including the first win of his career, in 2000. Castroneves was challenged for the pole by James Hinchcliffe, who wrecked out of the Indy 500 last week late in the race in an accident with pole-sitter Ed Carpenter.dddddddddddd. The rest of the final Fast Six qualifying round included rookie Jack Hawksworth, defending race winner champion Mike Conway, Ryan Briscoe and Juan Pablo Montoya. It was Montoyas first appearance in the Fast Six round of qualifying, and gave Team Penske two cars in the first three rows. 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