NEW YORK -- The numbers are not the sort that Roger Federer likes to see beside his name. Nike Air Max Kengät Ale . 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." Nike Air Max Suomi . The Rangers announced after Thursdays 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees that they would purchase Williams contract from Triple-A Round Rock. The 32-year-old Williams was released by Houston earlier this month after going 1-4 with a 6. Nike Air Max Ale . -- Top-seed Shahar Peer and Canadian Eugenie Bouchard advanced to the second round of the inaugural WTA Citi Open. http://www.suomiairmax.com/ . 22. Wade averaged 26.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals while leading the Heat to a 3-0 record. The 31-year-old shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range en route to his 17th weekly honor. KITCHENER, Ont. -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. Sweeting claimed a berth in the Page playoffs on Friday, beating Tracy Horgan of Sudbury, Ont., 5-3 in one of a pair of womens C-Event finals at the Olympic curling pre-trials. "It feels great," said Sweeting, who will face Calgarys Cheryl Bernard on Saturday. "We played really well today and we want to keep it up tomorrow and put ourselves in a position today. Thats what we did today. The team played really well, so to come out on top is confidence-boosting for sure." On Friday night, Sweeting had a tight game going with Horgan, who represented Ontario at the 2012 Scotties Tournament of Hearts, through six ends. But with Horgan holding a slim 2-1 lead, Sweeting was able to make a clutch hit to score a game-changing three, and never looked back, although she needed to make a delicate tap with her final rock of the 10th end to nail down the win. Bernard, meanwhile, prevailed 10-8 in an extra end over Cathy Auld of Mississauga, Ont., in a topsy-turvy affair that saw Bernard race to a 5-2 lead through four ends, then fall behind 8-6 through nine. But Bernard made a spectacular triple takeout to score a game-tying deuce in the 10th, and then stole the winning pair in 11 when Auld was wide on her game-winning draw to bite the button. The winner of the Sweeting-Bernard game will move into Sundays qualifying game for the Roar of the Rings Canadian curling trials in Winnipeg -- the event that will decide Canadas teams for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Halvalla Nike Air Max. "We were definitely here to win," said Sweeting. "Were in a position to do that, so we have definitely met our expectations." The first womens Trials qualifier will be decided Saturday night between A-Event winner Kelly Scott of Kelowna, B.C., and B-Event winner Renee Sonnenberg of Grande Prairie, Alta. The loser of that game will play the Sweeting-Bernard winner. In mens play, reigning Brier champ Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., ran his win streak to four games on Friday night with a 9-6 win over Saskatoons Steve Laycock in the B-Event final. That set up a tantalizing Page playoff A-B game Saturday against A-Event winner John Morris and his Kelowna/Vernon, B.C., team. Jacobs took control of his game Friday night by scoring three in the fifth end, and then took advantage of a Laycock miscue in the ninth to score a deuce out of thin air. "Mission accomplished," said Jacobs. "Were in that A-B game, we have two shots to go to the Trials. We really came out and played well today, and we got a few breaks honestly. But sometimes you need those breaks to get the wins, and well take it." In C-Event play, meanwhile, Jake Higgs of Glencoe, Ont., stole a big deuce in the eighth end -- the turning point in an 8-7 win over Joe Frans of Bradford, Ont. Higgs advanced to a C-Event semifinal clash with 2006 Olympic gold-medallist Brad Gushue of St. Johns, N.L., while Frans was eliminated with the loss. 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