Home>News Center>Sports
             
     

    Federer wins rain-soaked Masters
    (Agencies)
    Updated: 2004-11-22 14:09

    It rained Sunday, of course, and but another soppy, sloppy gray day at Westside Tennis Club did nothing to deter Roger Federer from his appointed rounds.

    The latest patch of nasty weather, which delayed the start of the Masters Cup final by three hours, probably did Lleyton Hewitt a small favor. Because afternoon had turned to evening and there was thought to be only a narrow window of precipitation-free opportunity, the ATP shortened the match to a best-two-of-three format, thereby sparing Hewitt a futile third set.


    Roger Federer of Switzerland holds aloft the Tennis Masters Cup trophy after defeating Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, November 21, 2004 at Westside Tennis Club in Houston. [Reuters]

    They could have played a best-of-10, or 20, and the result would have been the same.

    Once, back when Hewitt was himself the boy king of the tennis world, the fleet-footed little Australian owned Federer, prevailing in seven of their first nine meetings. But that worm has since done a 180, as we were reminded again Sunday night in the latest perfunctory 6-3, 6-2 paddling administered by the No. 1-ranked player to the little Aussie's raw backside.

    "It was an incredible end," Federer said, "to a fantastic year."

    The victory, in just 66 minutes of tennis, made Federer the first man to win three Grand Slams and the Masters Cup in a single season. In addition, it gave him:

    旳 $1.52 million paycheck, plus a hot little Mercedes-Benz convertible - so what if he says he's out of room in his garage.

    旳n Open Era record 13th consecutive win in a tournament finals.

    旳 23rd consecutive win over a top-10 opponent (Tim Henman wasn't in the top 10 when he beat Federer in February).

    旳 6-0 record against the third-ranked Hewitt in 2004 to go with his 3-0 record against No. 2-ranked Andy Roddick and his 3-0 record against No. 4 Marat Safin.

    旳 74th win in 80 matches in 2004, tying Roddick for the most this year.

    旳 22nd ATP title since 2000, the most in the new millennium.

    旳 17-0 finish to the season, and he went 41-2 since losing his only Slam match, in the third round at Roland Garros.

    Rarely has a player so clearly separated himself from the pack, or accomplished same with such a wondrous variety of shots and tactics. The 23-year-old Federer can beat you any way he wants, from wherever he's standing, with any shot of his choosing.

    "He just doesn't give you that many cheap points," Hewitt said, "and he served extremely well tonight. He's got such good variety on his serve and he's able to work it around. He hits a lot of lines out there and he makes a high percentage of first serves. He sets the point up so well on his serve you don't get that many opportunities to get into his service games.

    "He hits all the serves well - a great slice, a great kick, a good body serve. And he can generate pace when he wants to. It's never going to be in the same range as Roddick's, but it doesn't have to be."

    From the outset, Hewitt was in trouble, confronting the same buzz saw that chewed him up 6-3, 6-4 during the round-robin. Hewitt lost his first service game and never gained a chance to respond in kind, failing to reach, much less win, a break point. A 78-minute rain delay with Hewitt trying to serve to stay in the first set only unnecessarily prolonged the inevitable.

    Hewitt held there, but Federer easily served out the set, then put his rival a love-40 hole in the first game of the second. Although the 2001-02 Masters Cup winner scrambled out of that jam, he suffered breaks in the fifth and seventh games that finished him off.

    At first championship point, Hewitt's forehand return landed long and Federer leapt into the air, triumphant for the 11th time in 2004. No other player won more than four titles.

    Asked which achievement he was proudest of, Federer replied, "Everything. Early in my career I was struggling with my consistency, and you can't be much more consistent than (I was) this year."

    In losing twice to Federer, at least Hewitt finds himself in illustrious company. Federer went 2-0 against Andre Agassi last fall, when he became just the fourth player in the history of the ATP's season-ending event to beat the same player twice in the tournament. He also joined Hewitt as one of seven players to defend his title.

    The best-of-three format was the first for the Masters Cup final since a three-year run in the late 1970s.



     
      Today's Top News     Top Sports News
     

    Airliner crash kills 54 near Baotou, Inner Mongolia

     

       
     

    President Hu: We support battling terrorism

     

       
     

    APEC leaders want to revive world trade talks

     

       
     

    Death toll in Hebei mine fire rises to 57

     

       
     

    G20 calls for Asia forex flexibility

     

       
     

    Bush tries to mend ties with Latin America

     

       
      Federer wins rain-soaked Masters
       
      T-Mac nails big one for Rockets
       
      Soccer: China sink Canada 3-1 to reach semis
       
      NBA suspends Artest for rest of season
       
      Shaq's Heat top 76ers, stay unbeaten in East
       
      Federer, Hewitt to play for Masters Cup
       
     
      Go to Another Section  
     
     
      Story Tools  
       
    Advertisement
             
    最近2019免费中文字幕视频三| 秋霞鲁丝片Av无码少妇| 国产午夜无码精品免费看动漫 | 无码夫の前で人妻を犯す中字| 久久久久久久亚洲Av无码| 亚洲av中文无码乱人伦在线播放| 无码国内精品人妻少妇| 中文字幕永久一区二区三区在线观看 | 中文字幕国产第一页首页| 免费看又黄又无码的网站| 亚洲国产综合精品中文字幕| 久久精品无码一区二区三区| 国产成人无码一二三区视频| 中文字幕免费视频| 岛国av无码免费无禁网| 亚洲av无码无在线观看红杏| 久久久久久国产精品无码下载| 99久久无色码中文字幕| 精品久久久久久中文字幕大豆网| av无码播放一级毛片免费野外| 无码GOGO大胆啪啪艺术| 国产成人A亚洲精V品无码| 中文字幕永久一区二区三区在线观看| 天堂√在线中文最新版| 欧美乱人伦人妻中文字幕| 日本中文字幕一区二区有码在线| 日韩少妇无码喷潮系列一二三 | 狠狠躁天天躁无码中文字幕图| 伊人久久无码中文字幕| 日韩人妻无码一区二区三区| 亚洲欧美日韩另类中文字幕组| 亚洲天堂中文字幕在线| 中文字幕精品无码一区二区| 中文精品久久久久人妻| 久久AV无码精品人妻糸列| 国产成人亚洲综合无码| 亚洲熟妇无码另类久久久| 亚洲av无码国产精品色午夜字幕| 亚洲av无码片在线播放| 久久99精品久久久久久hb无码| 久久久久亚洲av无码专区喷水|