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Sunday July 11, 2004
Federer Plans to Confirm Dominance on All Surfaces
By Timothy Collings, Reuters
GSTAAD, Switzerland - Roger Federer realized a boyhood dream Sunday and then set himself a fresh goal.
The world number one wants to extend his winning sequence to include all surfaces when he returns from his summer holidays.
Twice Wimbledon champion Federer beat unseeded Russian Igor Andreev 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, on the clay court at the Roy Emerson Arena to take the Swiss Open title for the first time.
It was his third successive tournament triumph after winning on grass at Halle and Wimbledon in his sequence of 25 wins in 26 matches.
"Now I want to take this momentum with me into the next two tournaments and try to keep winning," he said. "Winning three titles in a row is something new for me. It is the first time I've done it."
But a tired Federer's next assignment, he said with a smile, is a private holiday at a destination he chose to keep to himself Sunday after his first win on Swiss soil at the fourth attempt.
"Three times I have attempted to win a title in Switzerland and now I have done it here in Gstaad and it means a lot to me," he explained. "It is something I have dreamed of doing since I was a boy."
DIFFICULT
He smiled too when it was suggested he had proved the remarkable quality of his all-round game by adapting so swiftly and successfully from grass to clay immediately after winning at Wimbledon for the second successive year.
"There is another switch (of surfaces) too when I play next in Toronto," he laughed as he looked ahead to his challenge on the hard courts of North America in two weeks' time.
"I will have to see how it goes. I know it won't be easy. I will go on the Friday and I guess the draw will be difficult. I just hope the jet lag will not be too much of a problem.
"It is usually quite difficult after you fly to North America but I hope I enjoy it with the momentum I have now."
He conceded that he was not surprised he had dropped a set on his way to victory Sunday as he was tired and allowed the aggressive 20-year-old Andreev back into the match.
"I knew it would be difficult for me to play five sets, if I had to, and so I knew that at some stage of the match I might have some trouble playing my best," he conceded. "The third set was like that, but I was leading by two sets so it wasn't really a problem. I expected there would be some lapses."
Federer's honesty and dignity shone through in front of the 5,800 home fans crowded into this Alpine resort's tennis arena as they rang bells and clapped to celebrate their hero's triumph.
"It means a lot for me to win in front of my own people," he said. "I have waited a long time for this and now it has happened at last. I will have a much better holiday now than if I had lost."
His beaten opponent Andreev praised Federer warmly.
"Has he got any weaknesses? Well, I don't know any. He can mix his game up, play serve and volley or play from the baseline. That is why he is the number one and he deserves it."
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