The Hindu : The Roger Reign begins at Wimbledon...

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 07, 2003

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Sport - Tennis

The Roger Reign begins at Wimbledon...

By Nirmal Shekar

Switzerland's Roger Federer holds the trophy aloft after winning the men's singles final against Australia's Mark Philippoussis at the Wimbledon on Sunday. Federer won in straight sets. - Reuters

London July 6. For long a Prince who shirked his royal duties and chose to be oblivious to his obvious destiny, Roger Federer at last turned up on the big stage displaying all the authority of a mighty sovereign to claim the throne that matters in the world of tennis.

Then, having beaten Mark Philippoussis of Australia 7-6(5), 6-2, 7-6(3) in the men's singles final of the 117th Wimbledon championships to climb his own Alps, the seemingly stoic Swiss broke down again and again and again, shedding tears of joy and his voice was choking with emotion when he spoke to BBC's Sue Barker on court.

The fourth-seeded Federer's first major title also marked a first for Switzerland.

No Swiss male had won a Grand Slam title until today and the last one from that country to win here was Martina Hingis in 1997.

Every bit a matador who thrilled the crowd with his dazzling theatrics, Federer imposed his colourful all-court game on the Australian in the first set tiebreak and brought a fairytale finish to his campaign in an hour of 56 minutes.

The Swiss player never once faced breakpoint on his own serve as he hit 21 aces to Philippoussis's 14 and handled the big Australian's serves better than any player has this fortnight.

Those who expected a match of gladiatorial severity and nerve jangling compulsion between two giant performers might have been a touch disappointed at the end of the day.

While Federer looked fresh and eager, at once flexible and imaginative in his shotmaking and very composed in the face of minor challenges, Philippoussis looked jaded when it mattered most, the long and emotionally draining fortnight finally taking its toll on him.

In 2001, the year Federer beat Pete Sampras in the fourth round, Goran Ivanisevic's dramatic triumph marked a new emotional high at Wimbledon.

Last year, Lleyton Hewitt's success from the back of the court was no more than an aberration, in hindsight.

For, it was this afternoon, shortly after 4 p.m., that the greatest of championships welcomed the rightful heir to the throne vacated in 2001 by the greatest of 'em all. The emperor of emperors on these lawns — Sampras — would have surely approved had he watched the day's action on television on the other side of the Atlantic.

``As a boy I was joking that one day I would win this title. This is incredible. This is unbelievable,'' said Federer. For Philippoussis, no matter today's disappointment, this has been a voyage of discovery. ``It's been a long trip back,'' said the Australian whose career has been derailed time and again by injuries.

"But this is only the beginning. There is a long way to go.''

Then again, after watching Federer in his last two matches here, so would you think about the Swiss... that a long Roger Reign here is a distinct possibility.

Sizzling start

On a lovely afternoon in the most famous tennis stadium in the world, the atmosphere was electric. After all the whingeing and moaning about backcourt players getting to dominate Wimbledon, here we were, on the final day of the championships, with 13,810 fans welcoming on court two of the finest grass court players of our times.

If their track records for the year were starkly contrasting — Federer, world ranked No. 5 and winner of four titles this year pitted against a player whose last title victory had come two years ago in Memphis — then, once the match got going, there was very little to separate the Swiss star and his Australian opponent through a full set.

Neither player showed any signs of tension or nerves on the big occasion. And, after having listened to the BBC commentators preview the match, in hindsight, it appeared that these former champions up in the booth in their expensive jackets and ties were much more nervous than the two competitors.

And, remarkably enough, this was the first Wimbledon final for both players. Philippoussis had only once previously appeared in a Grand Slam final and that was at the U.S. Open five years ago.

It would have taken a very brave man to have foreseen the outcome during the first set when there was very little to choose between the two, although, on occasion, Federer got a better look at Philippoussis's serves than did the giant from Melbourne on the fourth seed's.

Even if you were less than prescient, perhaps there was a clue there to the events that would unfold.

But, then, who would have thought that one small mistake by Philippoussis in the tiebreak would open up the floodgates and the Aussie would be swept away in the floodtide of Federer's genius.

Neither player faced a breakpoint in the set; although the Scud was pushed to deuce once — in the fourth game — the next time there was the hint of a threat, in the eighth game, he came up with his fastest serve in the tournament, a 138mph ace.

But as the match wore on it was obvious that Federer was increasingly confident handling Philippoussis's second serve, something which put a lot of pressure on the Australian.

In the event, the double fault, which came on the 10th point of the tiebreak to give Federer a 6-4 lead, was understandable if not predictable.

That, then, is how close sets are decided; what is more, Philippoussis himself missed a forehand by half an inch, a shot that would have given him a minibreak earlier if he had made it.

Not surprisingly, Federer's confidence soared while Philippoussis himself suffered a letdown and quickly the Swiss raced to a 4-0 second set lead and went on to take the set in quick time.

The prognosis looked rather bleak for Philippoussis at that point.

But the man who came into this match after having played over 15 hours of nerve-wracking energy-sapping tennis in this tournament, somehow found second wind and made a match of it in the third set.

There was a critical over-rule by the very good chair umpire, the experienced Gerry Armstrong from Sussex, in the third game on the Australian's second serve.

Philippoussis was breakpoint down but managed to hold and there was the promise, at that point, that he would be able to stretch the red-hot Federer.

However, Federer raced to a 6-1 lead in the tiebreak and never looked back.

It was all over when Philippoussis's backhand return failed to cross the net on the third championship point for Federer.

The genial Swiss sank to the turf Bjorn-Borg style and then tears spurted out of his eyes as hundreds of cameras focused on his face.

All the emotions kept locked up came crashing out in waves.

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