The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Federer crushes Hewitt on way to final

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 16, 2004

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Sport - Tennis

Federer crushes Hewitt on way to final

HAMBURG, MAY 15. Roger Federer showed why he is the No. 1 in the world by dismantling one of his predecessors, Lleyton Hewitt, 6-0, 6-4 in one hour on Saturday to reach the final of the Hamburg Masters.

Hewitt, one of the best counter-punchers in tennis, never found the answer to Federer's all-court game with few errors.

Federer, owner of two of the last three Grand Slam titles, will play the winner of the semifinal between defending champion Guillermo Coria and Ivan Ljubicic.

On his way to the final, Federer has put on a display of impressive tennis. In Friday's quarterfinals, he dispatched another former No. 1 in the world and one of the top clay-court players, Carlos Moya.

Clay is not supposed to be Federer's best surface, but he won his first major title in Hamburg in 2002 and looks set to repeat.

``In that form, he's going to be tough to beat for anyone,'' Hewitt said. ``I guess I could have served better, but apart from that, he was just too good.''

The 2.4 million (US$2.9 million) clay-court event is the fifth of nine Masters Series tournaments, one tier below the Grand Slams. It is also a major tuneup for the French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year that starts May 24.

Federer said he did not consider himself a favorite in Roland Garros. ``I'm just looking at the first round. Everything that happens here is good, especially in the final, which is best-of-five sets,'' Federer said.

Hewitt came into the match with a 7-3 record against Federer, but the two had never met on clay before. Their last meeting was in the fourth round of the Australian Open at the start of the year, with Federer rallying to win in four sets in the fourth round before going on to capture the title.

Federer rolled through the first set, serving consistently and never letting up pressure on Hewitt, who could never get into a long rally.

The last time Hewitt lost a set 6-0 was also to Federer, at the Australian Open. ``He was not making any unforced errors,'' Hewitt said.

``It was a great start to the match,'' Federer said. ``I couldn't complain about anything. It was incredible. I was surprised that I could be so dominant against Lleyton.''

Federer appeared to even have luck on his side when he gained a break point in the second game of the next set when a netcord ball dropped softly on Hewitt's side.

But Federer than made one of his rare errors, sending a forehand long. Hewitt's first game came after a spectacular exchange. An off balance shot by Federer bounced high right on the sideline. Hewitt slammed it back, Federer replied with an incredible passing shot to Hewitt's backhand. The Australian lunged and touched the ground with his left hand while putting a backhand drop shot across the net. Federer raced forward and reached it, but it went long.

That revived Hewitt's game, but only briefly. Federer gained three break points at 3-2. Hewitt saved one with a volley, but Federer produced a superb crosscourt forehand winner under pressure to make it 4-2. He then held his serve at love.

Serving for the match, Federer was sent to the backhand corner by Hewitt and put back backhand into midcourt. Hewitt replied with a short volley, only to be passed by Federer's backhand down the line.

Federer wasted the match point when his backhand slice went wide and Hewitt went on to gain his first break of serve.

But Federer's lapse was brief. He earned three match points on Hewitt's serve, hitting a forehand that caught Hewitt wrong-footed.

Hewitt then played a backhand into the net to end the match. Federer finished the with 22 winners, while Hewitt had only four.

``It's nice to have a match that doesn't take too much out of you before the final,'' he said.

The reigning Wimbledon champion, Federer is off to a career-best 31-3 start to the year and is looking for his fourth title.

Earlier Lleyton Hewitt beat Juergen Melzer 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinal.

Mauresmo in cruise mode

In Rome second-seeded Amelie Mauresmo cruised into the Italian Open final with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Russia's Vera Zvonareva on Saturday.

Jennifer Capriati defeated top-seeded Serena Williams 6-4, 6-4 in the other match and will now play in the Italian Open final for the first time.

Williams was playing her first tournament back after a month off with a knee injury. This was her second loss this year.

The fifth-seeded Capriati held serve after breaking to go up 5-4 in the first set.

In the second, she jumped out to a 5-1 lead as Williams sprayed errant shots all over the court.

After Williams held to make it 5-2, Capriati double faulted on her first match point and Williams broke to make it 5-3. After Williams held again, Capriati finally served it out, with Williams hitting a net cord on the second match point.

Mauresmo reached the championship round at Foro Italico for the fourth time in the last five years. She finished runner-up in her three previous appearances. ``Maybe the fourth time will be good for me,'' the Frenchwoman said. ``Anyway, it's going to be good preparation for the French Open.''

Mauresmo dominated nearly all the long baselines rallies and the only tricky moment came when Zvonareva got an early break back in the second set and had a point on her serve to get to 4-4.

Mauresmo responded with a well-angled forehand cross-court winner to even the game at deuce and then broke with a volley winner and served out the match.

Zvonareva, the No. 8 seed making her tournament debut in Rome, appeared dejected by her play throughout the match, jolting her head back in disappointment while watching numerous shots whizz by her.

Still, the semifinal result marked the 19-year-old's best finish in a Tier I event, the level just below the four Grand Slams. Earlier this year, Zvonareva who won her second career title in Memphis, Tennessee.

Mauresmo won a three-set thriller against local favorite Silvia Farina Elia on Friday, a match that was delayed for three hours due to rain. That long contest did not seem to affect Mauresmo on Saturday, however, when she dominated in perfectly sunny conditions.

The results:

At Hamburg (Hamburg Masters): semifinals: Roger Federer bt Lleyton Hewitt 6-0, 6-4.

At Rome: (WTA Tour Italia Masters): Semifinals: Amelie Mauresmo bt Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-3; Jennifer Capriati bt Serena Williams 6-4, 6-4. — AP

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