Federer Schools Fish at ATP Indian Wells
Posted on March 18, 2004
World No. 1 Roger Federer was looking at a tough challenge Tuesday in American Mardy Fish, the only player to take a set off him last year at Wimbledon, but in the end the Swiss showed who is really the big fish in the Indian Wells pond with a commanding 6-4, 6-1 dismissal in just over an hour."I think he's got an unbelievable serve, especially his first serve," said Federer of Fish, lavishing praise on the developing American. "It's very tough to read. He hits a lot of aces. He's got great speed on that, too. I think he's got a very all-around game, all-surface game, as well. You know, I just think he needs a little bit more time."
For Fish the gap was too big to close on Tuesday, with Club Fed at the top of his game of late, dropping only one match since November 2003. "He's definitely the best player in the world," Fish said. "He's obviously showing it. I mean, he just consistently beats guys he should beat. I'm ranked 19, I didn't play that badly today, and he beat me 4-1. He consistently beats the guys that he should beat relatively easily every time." With the win, Federer improved to 19-1 on the year.
In other seeded action, No. 32 Juan Ignacio "Just Say No" Chela showed his win the other day over former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt was no fluke, beating hot-handed comeback veteran Tommy Haas 6-4, 6-2 in the slow conditions.
"I think that my game with Hewitt gave me a lot of confidence," Chela said. "It was very important for my career because Tommy Haas was No. 2, and he's a very good player. I've got more confidence. It's very important to me that I won." Now the Argentine will face his biggest test in world No. 1 Federer. "Since he's No. 1 and he has a complete game, I think it's going to be very, very hard."
Other winners were American sawhorse (5)Andre Agassi (d. Youzhny, coming back from a break down at 2-4 in the opening set), and (4)Guillermo Coria quietly moving into the quarterfinals (d. (13)Grosjean 6-2 in the third in the battle of little men).
"I'm going to put aside my thoughts about (Agassi) being my hero, which he still is," said Coria, who must now face the former No. 1 in the quarterfinals. "When I'm on the court, I'm going to play and still win. I think one of the reasons I lost the US Open was I was hurt. I hurt myself in my thigh. Now I'm fine and I'm planning to win."
On Wednesday's schedule is the completion of fourth round action in Irakli "Freak Show" Labadze vs. (22)Calleri, Dent vs. Blake in an all-unseeded, all-American match-up with possible Davis Cup ramifications (Blake leads meetings 2-1), (Q)Arthurs vs. (9)Henman (Brit leads 2-0), Escude vs. (3)Roddick (first meeting), and in doubles (1)Bryan/Bryan vs. Frenchmen Clement/Grosjean, and Spaniards Nadal/Robredo vs. (2)Bhupathi/Mirnyi.
WTA REVIEW/PREVIEW
The only surprise on the women's side Tuesday was (19)Nathalie Dechy over (6)Vera "The Forgotten Russian" Zvonareva in three sets. Wake us for the semis.
In other matches it was business as usual, with winners including (1)Justine Henin-Hardenne (d. (Q)Strycova), (3)Lindsay Davenport (d. (20)Shaughnessy), (4)Anastasia Myskina (d. (16)Sharapova 6-2, 6-1 in an all-Russian standoff), (11)Conchita Martinez (d. Schett), (12)Svetlana Kuznetsova (d. Amy "Down Goes" Frazier 6-0, 6-3), (15)Fabiola "The Fabulous One" Zuluaga (d. Granville), and Argentine qualifier Gisela Dulko (d. Irvin in two tiebreaks).
"I'm certainly not complaining the way I've been playing here, the way I played my last tournament in Tokyo, which has been over a month ago," said Davenport, quietly advancing through the draw. "It's been great. It's just important for me to try to keep it going. If I, you know, have a day where I'm not playing so well, still try and get through the match, keep giving myself opportunities."
Wednesday's women's quarterfinal action has only two matches slated in (Q)Dulko vs. (3)Davenport, and (19)Dechy vs. (15)Zuluaga. Refunds available at the Indian Wells ticket office, or on-line at www.this-women's-field-is-weak.com.
ATP TOP 10 WIN PERCENTAGE
Through Tues., March 16 (players still alive at the MS-Indian Wells in bold):
1. Federer, Roger (SUI) 19-1 .950
2. Hewitt, Lleyton (AUS) 15-2 .882
3. Agassi, Andre (USA) 11-2 .846
4. Roddick, Andy (USA) 19-4 .826
5. Moya, Carlos (ESP) 18-4 .818
6T. Coria, Guillermo (ARG) 12-3 .800
6T. Escude, Nicolas (FRA) 12-3 .800
8. Hrbaty, Dominik (SLO) 18-5 .783
9. Johansson, Joachim (SWE) 10-3 .769
10. Kuerten, Gustavo 14-5 .737
NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
A security guard who didn't recognize Roger Federer this week at Indian Wells denied him entrance to the players' locker room because he couldn't produce his credential following a practice session...22-year-old Serena Williams apparently has a new boyfriend in 33-year-old film director Brett Ratner...Roger Federer and the Swiss Defense Ministry are working out a deal to try and get Federer out of his required military service. Swiss men under 34 are required to fulfill national service, which usually includes five months in basic training and up to three weeks a year in annual training. "Some people say sports people like me should do (military service), others say, 'Leave him alone,'" Federer says. "They know and I know it's difficult for me to do. We're trying to find a solution that is best for both." Translation: World No. 1 = no military service...Lleyton Hewitt will fall out of the Top 10 next week on the ATP Rankings after failing to defend his Masters Series-Indian Wells title; looks like Kim will have to pick up the slack as the breadwinner in the family...Kim Clijsters on the wrist injury, typing (hopefully with the other wrist) on her website: "I am not allowed to move my wrist for 10 days. At that stage a further diagnosis will be made, and if it is negative, it would mean up to three more weeks of full rest...Then it would be tough to get in top shape for the Fed Cup."...WTA CEO Larry Scott doesn't put two-and-two together in "increased racquet technology" + "harder-hit balls" = "increased demand on players' bodies and injuries": "I think it's a real fluke [because] it's at the beginning of the year," said Scott on the rash of injuries. "If this were the end of the season, we'd chalk it up to wear and tear. I've spoken to a lot of people and whether it's Amelie Mauresmo injuring her back in the middle of a match or Serena or Jennifer Capriati getting hurt, there's no pattern." Since the "off season" is only a few weeks, what does it matter if it is the beginning or end of the year? Nice spin...The ATP is getting ready to have the hammer dropped on it by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after their inquiry into the ATP-centered doping problems on tour. Mark Gay, Greg Rusedski's lawyer, said: "But where you have that circumstance, where a governing body itself may be distributing substances which will make a player positive, it's simply not fair to punish players. If a governing body gives you the stuff there's an implicit guarantee that they're legal...This is not about a doping situation, this is about a situation of contamination. It's a totally different situation than most. There's no way on the Tour that people are using nadrolone. It's not possible. You've got so many people that are involved."...Another gut-punching gem from The Guardian: "(ATP CEO) Mark Miles, the chief executive of the Association of Tennis Professionals, admitted yesterday that it seemed increasingly unlikely that the organisation's trainers had ever handed out contaminated diet supplements to players, an admission which may cost him his job...Miles's belated admission suggests that (Greg) Rusedski, (Bohdan) Ulihrach and the six other players may all have escaped suspensions of up to two years because the ATP mishandled the cases."...Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela says everything is hunky-dory in Indian Wells: "First of all, I like the heavier balls. It's to my favor. It doesn't affect me where it does some of the other players. I think it's a very good atmosphere here at the Pacific Life Open. Everything is going fine." How many times has he peed in the cup this week?...Roger Federer says his rivalry with Andy Roddick is good for tennis, especially since he kicks his ass every time: "With Andy, we've always had good matches against each other. I've beat him more than he beat me, which is nice to know just next time I play him. But I think it is good for tennis in general because everybody here, especially in America, was waiting for the next, you know, superstar from America. Because you had so many great players, that put a lot of pressure on him. I'm actually happy to see what he has achieved in tennis. And that is great for us. Hopefully I can build up a good match-up with him in the future."...Roger Federer has won 24 of his last 25 matches dating to the Nov. 2003 Tennis Masters Cup...A British court has ruled that Andre Agassi must pay approximately $50,000 in back taxes to Britain's Inland Revenue from Nike and Head payments from the 1998-99 tax year, since Agassi came to Britain for a number of days to compete in Brit tournaments such as Wimbledon, according to Reuters. The ruling could have a significant effect on all international athletes now having a chunk in taxes taken from their paycheck from the country they are competing in...Kim Clijsters will now definitely miss Miami next week, with her wrist currently in a brace. Tough to get the two Belgians and the Williams sisters on the same court nowadays...Serena Williams is pumped for her return at Miami next week: "I want to give it my all. I've been feeling the hunger for quite some time. Maybe I have to work harder to get back to No. 1 but I do like being there and don't like to see a different number next to my name. It's going to be an adjustment. I've been away for some time and it would be naive to say there will be no adjustment. But If I didn't feel confident that I could get back to my level again, I would have no business returning."...According to the latest Sports Business Journal, Serena Williams opted out of the WTA Qatar event with "illness," but then shot scenes for the television show "The Division" on Lifetime. "I was definitely ill," Williams said in a telephone press conference, perhaps doing another bit of acting? "I couldn't get out of bed. It was a nightmare."...The ever-lovable Jelena Dokic on the decline of the Williams sister's dominance: "Even Venus has been very beatable. That story is over."