Federer Stops Roddick for 2nd Straight Year for Wimbledon Crown
Posted on July 4, 2005
Federer Unstoppable in Winning Third Consecutive WimbledonWorld No. 1 Roger Federer won his third consecutive Wimbledon championship Sunday, defeating No. 2 seed Andy
Roddick 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-4 in a repeat of last year's final.
Federer joins Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras as the only players to win three consecutive Wimbledon titles in the Open Era, and extends his unbeaten record in finals to a record 21. The Swiss is now just five matches from tying Borg's record of 41 consecutive wins on grass.
"Today, it seemed like I was playing flawless. Everything was working," said Federer, who held it all in during the tournament but then burst into tears after match point, realizing his feat. "In a way, I think this one will actually take me longer to realize. I remember during the match and during the rain delay, and then when I came back, I never really felt like I'm actually playing. It's like I'm not living this correctly. So, I don't know, it's a very strange feeling I have. It's probably going to take me days, months, weeks, years, I don't know, to realize this one."
Federer rolled over Roddick in 22 minutes in the first set. Roddick broke early in the second set, but the Swiss as usual was attuned to the American's monster delivery and broke back, winning the second set in a tiebreak and breaking in the third at 3-3.
"It's hard for him because I really played a fantastic match, one of my best in my life," Federer said. "Again, the biggest, most important moment in a Grand Slam final, and I would consider this even bigger than the US Open final I played, so this is my best match maybe I've ever played."
Roddick was often caught forcing his net game, producing pop-up volleys or simply being bested by the Federer backhand opass.
"I feel like I actually played decent and the stats are decent and I got straight-setted," Roddick said. "I did
everything I could. I tried playing different ways. I tried going to his forehand and coming in. He passed me. I tried to go to his backhand and coming in. He passed me. Tried staying back. He figured out a way to pass me, even though I was at the baseline."
Federer defeated three former No. 1s en route to the title in Juan Carlos Ferrero, Lleyton Hewitt and Roddick.
Next up is equaling the record of four-in-a-row by Sampras, and five-in-a-row by Borg at Wimbledon.
"I feel like I put myself into position," Federer said. "This was a very, very big tournament and match for me. Obviously, to get the fifth Grand Slam, but also the third Wimbledon -- I knew the importance of this one, so I was pretty tense going into it."
Black and Huber Win Wimbledon Womens Doubles Crown
Zimbabwe's Cara Black and South African Liezel Huber, seeded No. 2, steamrolled the unseeded duo of Amelie Mauresmo and Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-2, 6-1 Sunday for the women's doubles title at Wimbledon.
Black also won the title last year with Renee Stubbs.
Mauresmo struggled to hold serve throughout the match, while the No. 2 seeds stymied the un-seeds with Black at the net and the lumbering Huber primarily at the baseline.
It was the second title for Black/Huber in their fifth final this year.
Nadal Returns to Clay at ATP Bastad
Rafael Nadal, looking to gain points to stay in the race for the year-end No. 1 ranking with Roger Federer, returns to the clay this week at the Synsam Swedish Open in Bastad, joined by a top class of dirt grinders including former No. 1s and French Open champions Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero.
No. 2 seed Joachim Johansson of Sweden chose to stay home this week instead of taking to the grass at Newport, joined by fellow seeds Tommy Robredo of Spain, Russian Mikhail Youzhny, Swede Robin Soderling and Argentine Jose Acasuso.
The top-seeded Nadal opens against Argentine grinder Juan "The Principality" Monaco, heading for a quarterfinal meeting with fellow Roland Garros champ Ferrero.
Other opening-round matches to look for are Al Martin vs. Guillermo "G-Lo" Garcia-Lopez in an all-Spanish (winner to face Ferrero), an all-Swedish wildcard in Andreas Vinciguerra vs. Michael Ryderstedt, (8) Acasuso vs. Spanish comer Nicolas Almagro, (4) Moya vs. Alex Calatrava in an always-tricky all-Spanish, and (7) Soderling vs. next-generation German Florian "Oscar" Mayer.
Failing to return this year is two-time defending champion Argentine Mariano Zabaleta, who last year as the No. 8 seed ousted the No. 2-seeded Gaudio 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(4).
Moya (2002) is the lone returning champ in the field.
Two main draw matches are scheduled for Monday in (3) Robredo vs. Tabara, and (WC) Vinciguerra vs. (WC) Ryderstedt.
Dent Leads American Grass Charge at ATP Newport
The grasscourt season stretches one more week at the "B"-level Campbell's Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, R.I., where Taylor Dent leads the Top 25-less field.
Joining the chunky serve-and-volleyer on the lawns are Brit "Grinning" Greg Rusedski, Frenchman Cyril Saulnier, German Lars Burgsmuller, and Americans Vince Spadea, Robby Ginepri, Paul Goldstein and James Blake.
Opening-round matches of interest are (1) Dent vs. former NCAA champ Amer Delic, Wimbledon doubles champ Wesley Moodie vs. Taipei's Yeu-Tzoo Wang, (5) Ginepri vs. (WC) Scott Oudsema in an all-American, Brit (WC) Andy Murray vs. Frenchman Gregory Carraz, (4) Saulnier vs. Italy's Daniele "Choppin'" Bracciali who stretched Andy Roddick to five sets at Wimbledon, and (2) Spadea vs. Alexander "My Serve Has" Popp.
The light bottom half of the draw is a question mark with Spadea's bum shoulder, but the top half could yield interesting match-ups such as (1) Dent vs. (5) Ginepri in the quarterfinals, and (1) Dent vs. (3) Rusedski, (8) Blake or (WC) Murray in the semis.
In last year's final the unseeded Rusedski outgunned Popp in two tiebreaks for the title.
Returning champs in the field are Rusedski (2004,'93), Ginepri (2003), and Dent (2002).
Main draw matches slated for Monday are (WC) Oudsema vs. (5) Ginepri, Popp vs. (2) Spadea, and (6) Burgsmuller vs. G.Lapentti.
Davydenko, Gaudio Lead Dirt Field at ATP Gstaad
Roger Federer decided to skip defending his homecountry title from last year at Gstaad where he made the amazing transition from winning Wimbledon to taking to the clay with no practice, finally capturing his first Allianz Suisse Open title.
This year Nikolay Davydenko is the lone Top 10 representative, joined by former French champ Gaston Gaudio, Czechs Radek Stepanek and Jiri Novak, Spaniard Dave Ferrer, Croat Ivan Ljubicic, Chilean Nicolas Massu, and Italy's Filippo Volandri.
On court Monday in Gstaad are "You Say" Potito Starace vs. (6) Novak, (WC) Lammer vs. (Q) Sabau, (7) Massu vs. Behrend, (WC) Bastl vs. (2) Gaudio, Fernando "Hot Sauce" Verdasco vs. (Q) Pospisil, Koubek vs. Seppi, Kohlschreiber vs. (Q) Cermak, and Luis "Me So" Horna vs. Zib.
In last year's final, Federer defeated Russian Igor Andreev 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
Novak (2003,'01) is the lone returning champ in the field.
Fed Cup Semifinals This Week
The U.S. travels to Russia and Spain to France this weekend for the World Group I semifinals of the international Fed Cup competition, with Russia hard-pressed to defend its 2004 championship.
With Maria Sharapova taking a pass and US Open champ Svetlana Kuznetsova and Nadia Petrova ducking out with injuries, former French Open champ Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva will compete in Moscow on a red claycourt against Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport, fresh off the grass from competing in the Wimbledon final.
Spain's underpowered squad of Nuria Llagostera Vives and Anabel Medina Garrigues travel to Aix en Provence, France, to face the "Dream Team" of Amelie Mauresmo and Mary Pierce on hardcourts.
Competing in the World Group playoff round for a shot at the World Group in 2006 will be Austria at Switzerland (clay), Argentina at Belgium (hard), Germany at Croatia (clay), and Italy at the Czech Republic (indoor carpet).
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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Roger Federer has won an Open Era-best first five Grand Slam finals, dropping just one of 16 sets. Seven is the all-time record held by Richard Sears and Williams Renshaw...Roger Federer is now 9-1 vs. Andy Roddick, winning 11 of the last 12 sets...Roger Federer has won 36 straight on grass, 21 straight at Wimbledon losing just four sets during his last three title runs, and a record 21 straight tournament finals. Federer had 49 winners, 12 unforced in the Wimbledon final; Roddick 19 winners, 16 unforced...Andy Roddick won just 18 of 42 net points Sunday, and was again out-aced by Federer, who won the title without get aced more than 7 times in any match...How much faster on foot was Roger Federer than Andy Roddick? Shots Roddick gets barely gets to, Federer gets to and can hit a winner, repeated like a clinic throughout the final. Federer also lost just one point on his first serve in the first set...When was the last time Andy Roddick has lost all service points in a tiebreaker? Ouch, talk about being zoned in on the return...Jon Henderson lets loose on the British in The Observer: "British tennis has a problem -- and it is not the Lawn Tennis Association, an organisation that you would think, from the press it gets, is run by traffic wardens and internet stalkers. At least the LTA is the problem, but only to the extent that blaming it saves time when it comes to looking for the real reason why British tennis churns out champions at the same rate that Big Brother introduces us to interesting young people with a balanced view of themselves. The main problem, dear reader, is you. And here are the reasons why: 1. You are not interested enough in tennis, except during the Wimbledon fortnight when you mysteriously become all passionate about it and soon even remember how the tie-break system works. For the rest of the year, you are consumed by the traditional British sports: football, cricket and rugby; 2. If you are interested enough in it to be a member of a tennis club, you regard it as some little social enclave not to be infested with young people who wear baseball caps the wrong way round etc, etc.; 3. If you are suddenly made interested by having a child who shows signs of being rather good at it, you are either frightened of trying to push him/her because you've read that kids who are pushed a) suffer from burn-out, or b) return one evening and burn out the family home; or you can't be bothered to tell those people who inhabit that nasty little social enclave they call the local tennis club to start taking a more enlightened attitude towards young people; or you allow them to drift off into what's still regarded as our summer sport, cricket."...The ATP on their proposed doubles scoring change: "All groups clearly acknowledged that doubles is an important part of tennis, but believe some enhancements were necessary," ATP Director of Killing Doubles Horst Klosterkemper said. "Singles players said they would consider playing doubles on a more consistent basis if changes were made, citing the length of matches, which average more than 90 minutes, and scheduling difficulties as reasons for the lack of participation. The project team not only found remedies for these challenges, but also identified some format changes that will broaden the appeal of the game for fans." We'd like to see how many fans voted for changing the scoring of doubles to no-ad, first-to-five, World Team Tennis circus-type scoring.