Home » Roger Federer had a wonderful opportunity that year, according to a prominent coach.
Roger Federer had a wonderful opportunity that year, according to a prominent coach.
Roger Federer showed in 2003 when he reached his first major final at the All England Club that he was one of the players to overcome Wimbledon after the historic triumph over Pete Sampras in 2001.
Federer beat Sjeng Schalken in the quarterfinals, setting up the match against Andy Roddick, with two youths, and advanced to his maiden Majors semi-final with just one set lost. Federer was motivated to advance much further following an early exit a year ago.
competing fiercely for a spot in the opening final. Federer defeated Roddick 7-6, 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 43 minutes for the finest Major victory of his career. It was one of the best performances of Federer‘s short tennis career.
The Swiss were playing at a higher level that day, losing 17 points in 15 service games and denying the American two chances to break, putting constant pressure on him. Andy fought well in the first set, but he flubbed a routine forehand on set point at 6-5 in the tie break and never recovered, taking three breaks the rest of the way to help the Swiss advance.
“The first set was important; I thought I was playing well and maintained control of the situation, even in the tie breaks. However, Andy also shown a good level of play, so I’m glad he missed that forehand because perhaps things would have changed.
King Roger and Annacone
In a podcast with the Double Bagel, former American player Paul Annacone said that Roger Federer, who was taught by him from 2010 to 2013, has a special way of dealing with failure.
In that year (in 2011), “he had a fantastic chance,” Annacone stated. “He defeated Novak in the semifinals, and Novak had been unbeaten all year before the French Open. He earned set points and led 5-2 in the opening set against Rafa.
A drop shot that was attempted was more or less a bailout shot. I dropped that set and a challenging four-setter. “How can a competitive athlete recover from a setback like that? In Federer‘s situation, detachedly and resignedly. When he was finished, he was really proud of his performance in the competition, according to Annacone.
He excels at naturally disengaging from that emotion. Where he doesn’t try to hide his feelings, where he doesn’t find reasons why he lost, and where he doesn’t point the finger at anyone or anything. He simply processes things in a really healthy way, which is why I believe he is still playing at the age of 40.
