Federer Clubs Coria, Claims ATP HamburgPosted on May 16, 2004  Roger Federer showed again why he is the best player in tennis on Sunday, dispatching clay phenom Guillermo Coria 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 to win the Master Series event in Hamburg, Germany. After an error-filled first set, Federer cut down on his mistakes and took control of the match. Federer closed out his Argentine opponent at the 2-hour, 20-minute mark with a service winner. "I started to change some things," said Federer of his poor performance early. "My return, I started to chip it more and my serve was starting to work better which gave me time to relax during my service games. It was really important to win the second set because two-love down is not a good sign against Coria." The win by Federer earned him his tour-leading fourth ATP title of the year, and snapped a 31-match clay win-streak Coria had ochestrated since a semifinal loss at the French Open last year.
More importantly, Federer's performance in Hamburg, where he also comfortably defeated former French Open champion Carlos Moya and former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, showed that the Swiss star is a force on the clay. Critics suggested that Federer depsite having won the Hamburg title in 2002, is not among the elite clay court players, expecially after an early round loss at Rome last week.
“I’m more relaxed now," said Federer. "The last two years, I went to Paris with very high hopes. Now, I’m more relaxed and know how to approach Grand Slams.” For the win Federer collects his 15th career title, third overall on clay. Coria was seeking his second straight Hamburg title after defeating countryman Agustin Calleri in the final last year. This was Federer and Coria's first career meeting.
“I’m a bit sad because the final is the only match you’re not supposed to lose," said Coria. "The matches I played before this final went against me a little because they were pretty long. But I am very happy because a week ago I had an abdominal injury and it felt fine this week.” Federer will be the top seed at the upcoming French Open, which begins in Paris on May 24. |
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