On this day: Roger Federer shines on Munich clay to win seventh ATP title
After claiming the first Masters 1000 title and finishing inside the top-6 in 2002, the young Swiss Roger Federer was ready to continue his attack on the top of the men's game in 2003 that saw him winning seven ATP titles, including Wimbledon. Roger converted rock-solid 58 wins in 2002 into Tour-leading 78 in the following season, firing his engines in February to win Marseille and Dubai before taking a few weeks off after Miami, kicking off the clay swing in Munich at the end of April. This was the first and only appearance for Roger in Munich and he proved the status of the favorite with a dominant display in all five matches, dropping 27 games in ten sets and suffering only five breaks to leave the opponents far behind.
Future coach Zeljko Krajan fell 6-4, 6-3 in 65 minutes, breaking Federer twice and getting broken four times to send Roger into the last 16. The Swiss scored identical triumph over Raemon Sluiter in swift 59 minutes to find himself in the quarters where he took down the only top-30 player he faced that week Mikhail Youzhny 6-2, 6-3 in 61 minutes. Roger gifted just 11 points in nine service games and Mikhail was nowhere near that level, allowing Federer to break him three times and race into the last four where he faced Stefan Koubek.
The Austrian couldn't match the pace of the young Swiss either, squandering all six break points and dropping more than half of the points behind the initial shot to hand Federer four breaks of serve and propel him into the 13th ATP final at the age of 21. Federer's good friend Jarkko Nieminen stood between world no. 5 and the trophy on May 4 and just like the previous four players he had no chance against Roger, losing 6-1, 6-4 in 56 minutes in what was his fourth ATP final. Nieminen had a solid starting point, landing 80% of the first serve in and taking Roger's serve away twice, ruining all that with poor performance behind the initial shot, offering nine break opportunities to the Swiss and failing to convert five of them to propel Roger over the finish line.
Federer had much more winners and fewer number of unforced errors, dominating in the shortest exchanges and forging the lead in the longest ones as well to deserve the triumph and lift the seventh ATP title. Roger scored a break already in game two and that set the tone for the rest of the opener, securing two more in games four and six for a 6-1 in no time at all. The Finn bounced back in set number two, racing into a 3-0 lead and dropping the next three games as easy as he won the previous ones. At 4-4, Federer grabbed the crucial break and held after a deuce for a 6-4 and the crown, the third that year that would only get better two months later at Wimbledon when he claimed the maiden Grand Slam title.
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2V4xuxz
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