The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Federer proves his class

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004

Sport

Sport - Tennis

Federer proves his class

NEW YORK, SEPT. 13. Roger Federer is at his best against the best, when it counts the most, and he was pretty much perfect in the U.S. Open final.

The Swiss became the first man since 1988 to win three majors in a year, thoroughly outclassing Lleyton Hewitt of Australia 6-0, 7-6(3), 6-0 on Sunday night to add the American Grand Slam title to those he took at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

There hadn't been two shutout sets in the event's championship match since 1884.

``I couldn't have hoped for more. I got the start I wanted, I was dreaming of,'' Federer said.

``It's a very demanding sport. The season's long. There's not much time off. This is why I'm grateful every tournament, every Grand Slam I win. You never know which is your last.''

No one is thinking this will be Federer's final major title. With his fluid, all-court game, cool demeanour and win-the-big-ones determination, Federer already is inspiring talk about whether he can challenge Pete Sampras' record of 14 major titles. Sampras got No. 4 at the age of 22; Federer turned 23 last month.

Here's what is particularly remarkable: The top-ranked Federer's opponent was no pushover. Federer dominated every facet against pugnacious, backward-cap-wearing, ``Come on!"-yelling, fist-pumping Hewitt, a former No. 1 and owner of two major titles, including the 2001 U.S. Open.

``When he plays like he did on Sunday, he's in a different league than the other players I've played the last two weeks,'' Hewitt said.

``He's such a big-time player. He plays some of his best tennis in the big matches.''

Is there a player who could have defeated Federer on Sunday?

``I don't think anyone in the actual tournament,'' Hewitt said. ``Maybe Pete Sampras.''

Federer led the fourth-seeded Hewitt in winners (40-12), aces (11-1), and service breaks (7-1), and won the point on 31 of 35 trips to the net.

He never before made it beyond the fourth round at Flushing Meadows, leading some to wonder whether the wind, wild fans and roaring airplanes overhead might provide too many distractions for the fastidious Federer.

There are all sorts of impressive accomplishments Federer can lay claim to:

including Wimbledon in 2003, Federer is 4-0 in major finals, the first man in the Open era to start a career by winning his first four; he's won 11 straight tournament finals overall.

He's won 17 straight matches against players ranked in the top 10, including Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals and Tim Henman in the semifinals; no one had won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open back-to-back since Sampras in 1995, and Federer's run of four of the past six Slam titles is the best since Pistol Pete won four of five in 1993-94.

No coach

Overall, Federer is 64-6, with nine titles this season, all without a coach: He fired Peter Lundgren in December and never replaced him.

The one Grand Slam blemish on Federer's resume this year is the French Open, where he lost in the third round to three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten.

Mats Wilander won three majors in a season 16 years ago, and Jimmy Connors did it in 1974. The last man to complete the Grand Slam was Rod Laver in 1969.

Hewitt entered Sunday 2-0 in major finals, had won 16 straight matches, and was trying to become the first man to win the Open without dropping a set since 1960.

Well, that vanished quickly.

Federer raced through the opener set in 18 minutes, winning 24 of the 29 points, including the final 12. Hewitt needed half an hour just to win a game, and by then he was down a break in the second set, too.

Federer made only two unforced errors in the first set, but his level dropped quite a bit in the second, when he made 20. And then, just like that, Federer turned it back on, winning 14 of the first 16 points in the third set.

The Swiss star did a little bit of everything: powerful forehands, perfectly cut backhands, feathery drop shots, stinging volleys.

At times, it was almost as if he were hitting certain shots and applying certain strategies simply to show he can.

Federer faced his first break point while serving at 3-2 in the second set, and he closed the game this way: ace, ace, ace. Don't forget: Hewitt, 23, is widely considered the top returner of their generation.

Hewitt finally came through with his lone break on his sixth and final chance, when Federer served for the second set at 5-4.

They went into a tie-breaker, which Federer eased through despite not playing his best tennis, the true mark of a champion.

Triple triumph

Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain and Paola Suarez of Argentina became the first women's doubles team to win the U.S. Open title three straight times when they defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Likhovtseva 6-4, 7-5.

Junior champions

Andrew Murray of Britain and Michaella Krajicek of the Netherlands — the half-sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek — won the US Open junior titles in boys and girls sections respectively.

The third-seeded Murray beat No. 7 Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine 6-4, 6-2, while No. 3 Krajicek defeated No. 4 Jessica Kirland of Dayton, Ohio, 6-1, 6-1. — AP

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport