In Roger Federer's words: 'It was a pity that I couldn't force the fifth set'

Roger Federer came to Miami 2003 as one of the title favorites, scoring the most victories up to that point in the season and returning as the last year's finalist. In the first match, Roger took down Luis Horna 6-2, 7-5 in an hour and 21 minutes, playing well in the opener and scoring a late break in set number two to seal the deal in straight sets. Asked about that final with Agassi from 12 months ago, Roger said it gave him a lot of confidence, together with the title he claimed in Hamburg a couple of weeks later to secure the place in the top-10. The Swiss praised the American who played on a very high level in the opening two sets before matching his pace in sets three and four, moving closer to force a decider before Agassi rattled off the last couple of games to cross the finish line and defend the crown won in 2001. Andre prevailed 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and 21 minutes for the fifth title in Florida, preventing Roger from becoming the youngest champion since no other than Agassi in 1990! 

"I don't remember the points at that stage but I was up a break in the fourth set but it went away quickly, with Agassi breaking me twice and sealing the deal. I think he played well from the start; I couldn't manage to hold on. Then I started to serve better and it was a pity that I couldn't go into the fifth set. I made a breakthrough at the Masters series a year ago. I think I had two quarter-finals before Miami and it's not easy to fight at that level, having to play against highly-ranked players from the first round. If you can beat them in the early rounds here, it would help you at Majors and any other tournaments. It helped me to gain experience, as the semi-final against Lleyton Hewitt and the final versus Agassi here in Miami last year. I experienced something similar in Hamburg a few weeks later and those two Masters tournaments were perfect for me."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2L8XoOs