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February 12, 2001
Federer's 3 Triumphs Spoil McEnroe's Debut : Swiss One-Man Team Brings Down the U.S.
By Christopher Clarey, International Herald Tribune
BASEL, Switzerland:
He is only 19 years old and has yet to get past the fourth round in a
Grand Slam event, but Roger Federer already has something in common
with all-time tennis greats such as Henri Cochet, Nicola Pietrangeli,
Frank Sedgman and Neale Fraser.
He is one of the precious few to have won three live rubbers against
the United States in the same Davis Cup tie. And though the team that
Federer almost single-handedly defeated was hardly the most illustrious in the long, trophy-filled history of American
tennis, that does not change the conclusions that should be drawn from
this long, winner-filled weekend in Federer's hometown of Basel.
Federer is a special player — precociously poised and complete,
innately capable of raising his level under pressure and doing just
about everything fluidly.
He can serve big. He can play scrambling defense and come up with a
lob winner. He can play classic chip-and-charge tennis and smack away a
stiff-wristed volley winner. He can dictate play with his forehand and
hit his one-handed backhand with pace or a wicked, dipping slice that
leaves less agile opponents huffing, puffing and digging for the
quick-spinning ball.
For all that, it is impossible to know whether he will use his
manifold gifts to become a consistent world-beater. Money, adulation
and injuries can dull the biggest appetites and sharpest strokes, but
there can be no doubt after the last two weeks that the Swiss have
another potential champion in their midst. And unlike Martina Hingis,
Federer actually spends more time in Switzerland than in Florida.
"We ran into a guy who dominated the tie," said the new American
captain, Patrick McEnroe, who had a front-row seat over the last three
days from his courtside chair. "Federer is a great player, and he sort
of came into his own this week, and we just couldn't get on top of him.
But the guy's got a lot of game. He's certainly playing at a level
within the top 10, if not higher."
After winning his first tournament in Milan a week ago, Federer won
all three of his matches against the Americans in this first-round tie,
beating the former Australian Open finalist Todd Martin on Friday,
squiring and inspiring his partner Lorenzo Manta to an overwhelming
6-4, 6-2, 7-5 victory in the doubles Saturday and then fighting through
sore legs and the strong will of his opponent Sunday to beat the former
Wimbledon quarterfinalist, Jan-Michael Gambill, 7-5, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
The victory over Gambill, which left Federer in tears, gave the
Swiss an insurmountable 3-1 advantage and earned them (or was that
Federer?) the chance to host the French in the quarterfinals in April.
The Americans, who created the Davis Cup 101 years ago and have won it
a record 31 times, will have to settle for a spot in September's
relegation round against an opponent to be determined.
"I couldn't imagine that I'd be in a position to beat them almost on
my own," Federer said in German, one of the three languages he is
capable of expressing himself in.
No matter what happens in the weeks and tournaments to come, Federer
will always have Basel, the city by the Rhine where he was born and
raised and where he once worked as a ballboy at the Swiss Indoors in
this same arena.
Though the atmosphere inside St. Jakobshalle was a bit muted on the
first two days of competition, there were more fans and noise Sunday,
and Federer responded by shrugging off three set points in the first
set to take the early lead against Gambill, whom he beat twice last
year and once last month during the mixed team event, the Hopman Cup,
which he and Hingis won for Switzerland.
Serving at 4-5, 30-40, Federer saved the first set point with some
world-class defensive tennis that culminated in a great forehand lob
that a surprised Gambill could reach with a backhand overhead but not
control. The Swiss later saved the second when the American missed a
forehand return off a good first serve and, finally, the third with a
cool forehand volley winner.
The visibly deflated Gambill was then broken in the next game. When
he reached his chair, he threw his racquet, and though McEnroe quietly
tracked it down and returned it to its addled owner, the damage had
been done, and Federer served out the set at love. He would win the
second more convincingly, and though Gambill, to his credit, strung
together enough fine serves and deep two-handed groundstrokes to win
the third, the athletic American lost control of the match for good in
the third game of the final set when he missed a straightforward
backhand volley (hardly his strength) to drop his serve.
When
it ended after exactly three hours with a Federer ace, the Swiss
youngster dropped to his knees and was soon covering his face and his
tears with both hands as he celebrated with his teammates and his
public. He might not have beaten Pete Sampras, the player he had based
his game on, or Andre Agassi, but it is hardly his fault that those
stars had other priorities.
He had still beaten the Americans, just about on his own, and only
six other men have done the same: Laurie Doherty in 1903, Cochet in
1928; Sedgman in 1951; Fraser in 1959; Pietrangeli in 1961 and Raul
Ramirez of Mexico in 1975.
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