|
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Federer Express Rushing To The Top
By Ronald Atkin, Wimbledon Official Site
It was on Wimbledon's Centre Court two years
ago that Roger Federer first announced himself to the sporting world at
large by defeating the seven-time champion Pete Sampras in a dramatic
five-setter, halting the great American's 31-match winning streak at
The Championships.
But by then the man nicknamed 'The Federer
Express' had already established himself on the circuit before he was
out of his teens, thus fulfilling the youthful promise shown when he
became world junior champion in 1998 and won the Wimbledon title.
Within
a year of embarking on his professional career, the tall, well-built
Federer shot almost 250 places up the ATP rankings to end 1999 at 64th.
That year marked his Davis Cup debut for Switzerland and his Wimbledon
debut, a first round exit, which was also his fate the following year.
By
the end of 2000 Federer's thunderous forehand and ability to do well on
any surface had carried him inside the top 50. He reached two ATP
finals, the first of his career, losing to his fellow-Swiss, Marc
Rosset, in Marseilles and to Thomas Enqvist in his birthplace, Basle.
He also represented his homeland in the Sydney Olympics, losing the
bronze medal match to Arnaud Di Pasquale.
The steady improvement
was maintained in 2001, as Federer became Swiss number one, offering
his compatriots the chance to cheer someone other than Martina Hingis.
It was also the year Federer collected his first injury, a groin strain
which sidelined him for six weeks.
This setback could not halt
the rapid rise of "The Express" who collected his first title in Milan
and finished runner-up in Rotterdam and, once more, Basle. The Grand
Slams were coming into Federer's reckoning, too.
He was a
quarter-finalist on the clay of Roland Garros, and at Wimbledon, having
famously toppled Sampras, he then lost to Tim Henman in a four-set
quarter-final. Following that injury lay-off, Federer was beaten by
Andre Agassi in the fourth round of the US Open.
So already
there were already highly encouraging signs that he was getting close
to the very best in the game. He was also a hero in his homeland after
scoring all three points in the Davis Cup victory over the United
States.
It was, of course, inevitable that last year should see
the improvement escalate, culminating in a place inside the top ten and
an appearance at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai. He won a total of
82 matches (58 singles, 24 doubles) and was champion at three
tournaments, Sydney, Vienna and Hamburg.
There was also ongoing
Davis Cup success. Despite Switzerland's exit to the eventual
champions, Russia, Federer won all four singles last year and has won
all four again so far this season, helping to propel his nation past
the strongly-fancied French and into the competition's semi-finals.
Wimbledon
last year proved, for the third time in four attempts, a fleeting visit
as he went out in his first match to the Croatian teenager, Mario
Ancic. But again he got to the fourth round at the US Open and in
Shanghai it took the eventual winner, Lleyton Hewitt, to halt him.
Expectations
were by now enormous and he said, "I get introduced everywhere as 'the
future No.1', but there are no titles for being the future No.1 or the
player who once beat Sampras at Wimbledon. A lot of people don't
understand how hard I have to work to make tennis look as easy as
people say I make it look.
"I want to win every event I enter. I
don't enter any of them just to prepare for Grand Slams, which is the
approach I used to have and which didn't work for me."
Which is
why Federer's 2003 form has been the most impressive of his young
career. Three tournaments were won (Marseilles, Munich and Dubai) but
there were signs of a let-down when he lost the Rome final in straight
sets to Felix Mantilla. This was confirmed by his shock first round
loss in the French Open. No wonder he says, with relish, "I fancy my
chances better at Wimbledon."
|
