2003 Wimbledon - Detailed story about Roger's first Grand Slam title

Nadal_Power

Semi-Pro
http://www.**************.org/2003-...-step-towards-tennis-glory-articolo32433.html

Introduction: On 6th July 2003, Roger Federer finally fulfilled his potential and talent, winning his first Grand Slam title on the sacred Centre Court at Wimbledon, showing some astonishingly good tennis.

The 21-year old Swiss had never before gone further than the quarter-final stage at the Grand Slams. That year, he did just about everything right, especially in the final when it looked that he just couldn’t miss a shot. Roger became the first player after Richard Krajicek in 1996, to lose only one set en route towards the Wimbledon crown, and in the final match, he gave no chances to Mark Philippoussis to break his serve, defeating him in straight sets 7-6 6-2 7-6.

With only a few unforced errors and a full arsenal of variety of strokes that left Philippoussis completely powerless that day this was one of the most impressive debuts in the Grand Slam finals in the history of tennis and a nice prelude for all of Roger's successes at this tournament in the years to come.

Philippoussis had a terrific average of 27 aces per match before the final, including 46 against Agassi in the fourth round. Nevertheless, Roger stopped Mark's domination on serve with some great returns, neutralizing the Aussie in attempts to drive him off to the side of the court and to finish the point with an easy volley at the net. Federer became only the fourth player in the Open Era to win Wimbledon in both junior and senior competition, after Bjorn Borg, Pat Cash, and Stefan Edberg. At that moment, Roger was the youngest champion since Boris Becker in 1989, and it was highly unlikely that he would be passed in the years to come. There was another connection with the famous German that both players had won the title as the fourth seeds (Becker in 1986).

In some way, this was the tournament for proving themselves for both Mark and Roger. After his stunning victory against Sampras in 2001, Roger was put under the spotlight next year, but he lost to Mario Ancic at the start of the tournament. On the other hand, Philippoussis was virtually written down, and it all started exactly at Wimbledon in 1999 when he had had the match against Sampras in his hands before he was forced to retire due to a knee injury. His agony lasted until 2002 (three surgeries in 14 months) and it was not only that he spent some time in the wheelchair but there was also a chance that he might have never played tennis again.

As we can see, Mark raised himself above all his troubles and went on to reach another Grand Slam final, after losing the 1998 US Open final to a fellow Aussie, Patrick Rafter.In addition, Mark was also trying to become one of only a few players to have won Wimbledon without being seeded (Ivanisevic had done it in 2001).

How chaotic and interesting the first years of the new millennium were, we can see from the fact that Federer was the seventh different player in a row to win a Grand Slam title, starting from the 2002 Australian Open, where Thomas Johansson won his famous title. This had happened only twice before in the Open era, between the 1974 US Open and 1976 French Open, and the 1990 Australian Open and 1991 Wimbledon.

Few words about the tournament: A leitmotif at the start of the tournament was the absence of seven-time champion Pete Sampras, after 14 consecutive years of playing at his favorite tournament. Also, after the previous year’s final had seen two baseliners, things had gone back to normal, even though the defending champion Lleyton Hewitt re-wrote the history once again, this time negatively. Namely, he lost in the first round to the big server Ivo Karlovic, becoming the only second Wimbledon defending champion to lose in the first round. This shocker was echoing around the tennis world for days, as Karlovic was the 203rd ranked player in the world, who’d qualified to make the main draw (he’d failed to qualify for the previous 10 Grand Slam events), and he was a Grand Slam debutant! Also, Ivo was the tallest player to have ever played at Wimbledon, using his height to terrorize his rivals with booming serves.

Ivo had around 60 service winners but things could have been different, as Lleyton led 6-1 5-4 with set point for a two sets’ lead. But Karlovic fended it off with good serve (he saved six break points in the second set) to stay in touch, and he eventually won the set, which gave him a huge boost. One break of serve in each of the third and fourth sets was enough for the Croat to notch a huge win and create a big upset in the early stage of the tournament. Robby Ginepri drew attention by playing in the sleeveless shirt and for his marathon second round match against Arnaud Clement, the Frenchman winning 10-8 in the fifth set after more than four-and-a-half hours of play.

History will also remember the debut of Rafael Nadal at the Grand Slams, less than a month after his 17th birthday. He showed his class straight away by defeating Mario Ancic and becoming the third youngest player to have won a Wimbledon match in the Open era, after Mats Wilander and Boris Becker, 20 years earlier.

In the second round, there was a very tight encounter between Greg Rusedski and Andy Roddick and also a new great achievement for Nadal, who became the youngest player to reach the third round after Boris Becker in 1984. The hopes of the Brits were still tied to Tim Henman, who ousted the 2002 finalist David Nalbandian en route to reaching the quarter-final stage in the event for the seventh time in eight years.

When Philippoussis took down Agassi in the fourth round, there was an unusual scene in the quarter-final, with eight players who’d never won Wimbledon left in contention. This had occurred for the first time since 1973, when Wimbledon was boycotted by the best players.

Sebastien Grosjean broke the hearts of the home crowd once again in the quarter-final, beating Tim Henman 3-1 (Tim came from 1-5 down in the first set but he wasted four set points in the tie-break). Roddick continued his good run, defeating Bjorkman in straight sets to set up a semi-final clash with Federer. Both semi-final matches were finished in straight sets, for the first time since 1982.
 

Nadal_Power

Semi-Pro
Previous results at Wimbledon: After his junior title in 1998, Federer made his main draw debut next year, losing to Jiri Novak despite being 2-1 up. Next year he was again defeated in the first round, this time to Yevgeny Kafelnikov in three close sets. Then came 2001, and his only prominent result before this title. He lost to Tim Henman in the quarter-final after the great fight, but in the round before Roger had knocked out Pete Sampras, gaining attention from the whole tennis world. As we already said, in 2002 he had another early exit, to Mario Ancic in the first round, so Federer basically had come to this Wimbledon with a mediocre 4-4 score, which makes his title even bigger.

Philippoussis was playing at Wimbledon for the seventh time, he was unsuccessful in the first two tries but after that, he had reached the fourth round every time. His first quarter-final here at Wimbledon came in 1998 when he gave Sampras a run for his money, despite the straight sets defeat. 12 months later, the same players met again in the same round, and that match marked the beginning of Mark's problems with injuries. As Sampras said after the match, Mark was in full control by taking the first set and missing a break point in the third game of the second set. In that game, the Aussie had a bad step and his knee just flipped, so he was forced to ask for a medical timeout when the game was over. After the treatment, Philippoussis realized that he could not continue with the match so he retired from the match, receiving some undeserved booing from the crowd. Next year he came back to play his third consecutive Wimbledon quarter-final but lost to another American great, Andre Agassi. He missed the whole of 2001 and in 2002 Richard Krajicek bested him in the fourth round with a 6-7 7-6 6-7 7-6 6-4 result that wasn't for those with weak hearts! Krajicek’s ranking wasn't even among the top-1000 and Mark needed a wild card to make the main draw. After many rain delays that stretched for three days, the match was finished at 21:15, literally just before dark. There were only three breaks of serve in the entire match!

Form: Federer started the season as the sixth best player in the world, but he couldn't have been happy with his results in January that year. February brought successes as Roger won titles in Marseille and Dubai and reached the semi-final in Rotterdam. On clay, he won Munich and also made the final in Rome, only to suffer an unexpected defeat in the first round at Roland Garros. But, what’s most important for our story is that he won his first grass-court title in Halle, which turned out to be a perfect preparation for Wimbledon.

Mark had a slow start that year, reaching his first final in March in Scottsdale where he lost to Hewitt. In Hamburg, he defeated Roger on clay and reached the quarter-final. He had an early exit in Paris, after the second round. He played in Queen's, losing to his old rival Richard Krajicek in the first round. He’d won only 16 ATP matches before Wimbledon, much less than Roger's 38.

The road to the final: After his Halle crown, Roger came to London and leased a flat for himself, Mirka, Lundgren, and physiotherapist Pavel Kovac. He tried to keep himself out of everything, giving only necessary interviews, not reading newspapers and not committing to playing doubles to focus mainly on the singles. Still it wasn't easy to run away from the press, as he was the third favorite according to bookies, behind Agassi and Roddick. In the first round, Roger passed Hyung-Taik Lee 6-3 6-3 7-6. He won the first set in just 24 minutes but had to work a little bit more in the second, coming back from 3-1 down winning five straight games. In the third set, he wasted seven match points, only to finish the match in the tie-break. In the second round, Stefan Koubek fell 7-5 6-1 6-1, as Federer won 17 of the last 19 points in the match. Koubek was 5-2 up in the first set but Roger bounced back with five games in a row, saving a set point on his serve. Just like in the first match, the Swiss used every opportunity to attack the net and was aggressive as possible, playing some high-quality grass court tennis.

Mardy Fish awaited in the third round and he was the only player who took a set away from Roger, in his 6-3 6-1 4-6 6-1 defeat. The match was interrupted due to rain twice and was finished just before dark. After the match, Fish said that it would be very hard to stop Roger, as he’d managed to win only one set despite playing his best tennis. So, Roger was in the second week for the second time at Wimbledon, and his next rival was his coeval from Spain, Feliciano Lopez. Roger won 7-6 6-4 6-4, but back injury during the warm-up threatened to jeopardize Roger's dreams of the title. He needed treatment after the second game and in his own words he could only hope for some miracle as he had had problems to even move during those moments. Still, as the encounter progressed his back was in better condition and he managed to bring the match home in three sets, which was extremely important.

It could all have been much different, with Lopez having three set points on his own serve in the first set because it was uncertain as to could Roger endure the pressure of playing at least one additional set. Also, Feliciano had a 3-0 lead at the start of the third set, but Roger responded by taking five out of the next six games to get in front. Federer didn't train the day before the quarter-final match, but he beat Sjeng Schalken 6-3 6-4 6-4 to reach his first Wimbledon semi-final! The match was supposed to be played on the Centre court on Wednesday but was moved to the Court 2 on Thursday, which gave Roger more time to rest his back. He played a great match, losing serve only once in the third set but he quickly recovered to bring the match home soon after that, making less than 10 unforced errors in the entire match. Schalken was also not fit after injuring his left foot in the match with Schuettler, playing with the help of pain killers against Federer.

In the semi-final, the crowd expected a real blockbuster between the two young and promising players, Federer and Roddick. Nonetheless, the match lacked some bigger excitement after Roger played so well that all former Wimbledon champions could have been jealous of that performance. He served great, kept his second serve well, and made volleys look like it was the easiest thing in the world in his 7-6 6-3 6-3 triumph, advancing to his first Grand Slam final in the best possible style after an hour and 45 minutes. In the first five matches, Andy had 79 service games and he’d lost serve only thrice, but Federer managed to stop that fearsome weapon, leaving Roddick on only 25 service winners. Roger didn't have any double faults and he had some 60 winners and just over 10 unforced errors, with 70% of success with serve-and-volley. The only chance for better result Andy had was in the first set when he missed an easy volley on his set point in the tie-break, and there was no way back for him from that point on. Federer broke his rival in the second game of the second set, keeping the lead until the end with easy service games, and he sealed the victory with a double break in the third set, in the fifth and ninth games.
 

Nadal_Power

Semi-Pro
If Roger had reached the final without facing any hurdles, it was completely opposite for Mark! He lost his serve thrice in the first round against clay courter Mariano Zabaleta, but he won the match by 3-1. He had a good draw in the second round, defeating Cyril Saulnier from France in straight sets, but the real test was just around the corner. Radek Stepanek gave him a true scare before Mark prevailed 4-6 7-6 6-4 7-6 after more than three hours of play. There were only two breaks of serve in the entire match and the Czech player led 4-0 and 4-1 in the tie breaks, but couldn't get a set point in any of them. Mark got broken in the first game of the match after two double faults, but went on to hold in every other game until the end. The second set lasted 78 minutes, which was unusual for fast courts at Wimbledon, mainly thanks to the marathon sixth game, in which Radek saved two break points to hold his serve after no less than 11 deuces! Mark did a fine job to turn over the score in the tie-break, not letting Stepanek gain a big two-sets-to-love advantage. Mark converted one break in the third set and he was more focused in the fourth set tie-break to reach the last 16.

It didn't get any easier for him, as his next rival was Andre Agassi, in what had been another thriller. In the last five years Agassi was destined to play big Wimbledon matches against Aussies, thrice against Rafter and now with Philippoussis. After more than three hours of fearsome battle, Mark went on to win 6-3 2-6 6-7 6-3 6-4, scoring a break in the fourth and fifth sets. Agassi had won their last six meeting and Mark was determined to stop that, taking the first set with some great tennis, losing just four points on serve. He broke Andre in the fifth game, converting on the fifth break point, and that was enough to take the opener. Still, the world no. 1 reacted even better, claiming the second set 6-2 with a double break. Andre had to work hard in the first game, saving two break points but he took Mark's serve in the next game, even though the Aussie was 40-15 up. The set was over after another break in the eighth game, following a double fault from Philippoussis. Agassi saved five break chances in the third game of the third set and he went on to take the tie-break after that building a 2-1 lead. Mark had to do something, and rather quickly, and he got an early break in the fourth set which he kept until the end, sending the match into a decider. In the sixth game of the final set, Mark saved two break points with great serves and he broke Andre in the next game, which eventually brought him the win. Philippoussis held in his last 16 service games, saving nine break points during that time, which was a great fact, knowing how good Agassi could be on the return. He also fired 46 aces, the biggest number at Wimbledon since Goran Ivanisevic against Magnus Norman in 1997, and both players were very solid on saving break points; Agassi saved 18 from 21 and Philippoussis nine from 11 he faced.

In the quarter-final, Mark played against German Alexander Popp, ranked 198th in the world. Popp had made a name for himself three years earlier when he reached the last-eight at Wimbledon in his debut. He also played an aggressive serve-and-volley game just like Mark. Popp had a two-sets-to-love advantage before Philippoussis started his historic comeback, prevailing in the fifth set with a 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-3 8-6 score, after three rain interruptions. Alexander gained this advantage with a break in each of the first two sets, keeping his serve safe on the other hand. Mark started to play better from that moment, knowing that he couldn’t be in a worse situation than this, and he quickly got back on the scoreboard with two 6-3 sets. The match was interrupted at 2-2 in the fifth set and was continued the day after, with nine break points for Philippoussis in the first two return games when the match was restarted, but he failed to convert any of them. He could have been punished for this like it usually happened, as he saved three break points in game 11 to stay in contention (he saved the third with a beautiful diving volley). He saved another break point in game 13, to finally break Popp's resistance with a deciding break in game 14, moving into the semi-final.

There, Sebastien Grosjean awaited, and this time Mark scored a much-needed straight sets win, his first after the second round. It was 7-6 6-3 6-3, with Mark staying unbroken in the entire match, to give the Aussies their fourth consecutive Wimbledon finalist, so far the last one. The match lasted five minutes shorter than the two hour mark, with only two break points for the Frenchman. With 11 aces in this match (modest for his standards) Mark reached a number of 164 in total before the final, and that was his main weapon until the match with Roger. Serve was the dominant force at the beginning, with five out of the first six games finishing with a love service games. In the 11th game Grosjean saved two break points to force a tie-break which Mark won 7-3 despite starting it with a double fault. In the second set, Mark had an early break and another one in the eighth game of the third set, after Grosjean's double fault. That was enough for him to keep the score under control, not giving his rival any chance on return.
 

Nadal_Power

Semi-Pro
I set:

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Federer had a great opener, which is always important in matches like this, with two service winners and two more from the field, with a backhand, and a volley from the forehand side. It was clear from the first point what kind of match we could expect, and that it was going to be a ruthless attacking encounter from both players. In the first game, Mark returned four of Roger's serves, which was to be one of the crucial segments if he wanted to defeat the Swiss, who obviously was more rested and simply a much qualitative player. Philippoussis wasted no time on the court before he leveled the score at 1-1, with his main weapon, firing four service winners. Federer returned one serve and scored a winner from that, but he was powerless on other occasions. In the first 12 points, we saw only winners, as the start could not have been better, and Federer went 2-1 in front after errors on both sides. He had two service winners and one from a backhand volley, enough for an easy hold.

The returner reached deuce for the first time in game four but Mark held in the end with two winners, keeping the pace with his rival. In this game, Roger won three out of four points in which he returned Mark's serve, a promising and positive sign for him and it was the indicator that Aussie would have had to be very alert on his serve. In game five, Roger showed that his service could be as good as anyone’s and took the game in a less than a minute after four service winners. At that moment, he had six unreturned serves in a row, hoping for more in the games to come. Mark opened the sixth game with a double fault but he won the next four points to level the score at 3-3, with two service winners and one more from backhand wing. It was precisely those kinds of points that were much needed for him, to gain some rhythm in the rallies, no matter how short they were, and to put the pressure away from his serve. He had good and strong ground strokes but he needed time to settle into them, which Federer mostly didn't allow him. After less than 20 minutes, the scoreboard stood 3-3, with the decisive battle still to be led in the second part of the set.

In game seven, Federer had an easy hold once again to go 4-3 up, delivering some great shots, for which Mark had no answer. Philippoussis made four returns but with no chance to do anything after that, as Roger forced three errors from his rival in that game, always waiting with the perfect shot after the serve. Roger was staying on the baseline patiently on his second serve, and that proved as a great tactic that far. The eighth game started with a first return winner, Federer sent uncatchable backhand down the line, and he got to a potentially dangerous 30-30. Mark responded with two winners to keep his serve tight, moving a step closer to a tie-break. Roger was still serving like he was playing in his 10th Grand Slam final instead of the first, and he moved 5-4 in front with three service winners and one with a forehand volley at the net.

Philippoussis saved to stay in the set and he did a good job, scoring five winners, three from the initial stroke and with a backhand volley at the net. The pressure was back on Roger but he just didn't feel it, scoring another quick game with three service winners and additional from forehand volley. In that moment, the last 16 points were winners, and the crowd couldn't get any better final, especially from two players fighting for their first Grand Slam title. Roger had a half-chance to make the first break in game 12, reaching 30-0 following Mark's double fault and his forehand winner. The Aussie responded in the perfect manner, winning the next four points with winners, to set up a tie-break after a little more than 30 minutes.

Mark had a mini-break in the first point but his lead was short-lived, as he made an unforced error with a forehand volley from the service line. The servers consolidated after that, with four service winners and a surprisingly long rally in between that lasted 15 strokes. In the eighth point, Mark had a great chance to have a mini-break and put himself 5-3 up, but he made a forehand error, which will prove to be very costly soon after that. Another second serve from Roger and another chance for Mark in the ninth point, and he once again couldn't control his shot, sending a forehand down the line few millimeters behind the line, aware how big a chance he’d wasted. It was Mark's turn to serve and he made a costly double fault, harassed with two big mistakes in previous points. Being 4-6 down, Philippoussis fired a service winner but Roger grabbed the first chance he got on his own serve, finishing the set with his 17th unreturnable serve, this time from the second serve that Mark could have easily returned. So after 43 minutes Federer had a 1-0 lead, and soon it was very clear how Mark got distracted by the errors he’d made at the end of the first set tie-break.
 

Nadal_Power

Semi-Pro
II set :

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For Philippoussis, it was crucial to open the second set with few solid service games, to find the rhythm again after missing those chances at the end of the first, but that didn't go well for him. Federer made the first break of the match in the first game, returning four of Mark's serves and getting the most out of that. He forced two volley errors from Mark and added two more winners with cross court forehands. Roger confirmed the break with four winners in game two (three service winners and a smash) and he could now concentrate on his games until the end of the set, not thinking about the return. After less than 10 minutes of the second set, it was clear who would win it as Roger made another break in game three, breaking at 15 just like in the first game. Philippoussis again struggled to land the first serve in and Roger took full advantage out of that, returning four serves and gaining the control in the points straight after. The Swiss was 15-30 up with a return winner and one more from a backhand drive-volley after another good return, and Mark gifted him the next two points with two unforced errors. In game four, Federer finally faced some problems on his serve and was 0-30 down before he routinely won the next four points, firing three service winners and another one right after the serve.

Trailing 4-0, Mark managed to get himself on the scoreboard with a perfect service game, with four service winners. This set was over, but the Aussie needed to recover his shots as soon as possible and to start all over again from set three. In game six, Mark returned five of Roger's serves and he managed to take two points, but it wasn't enough to threaten more and reach deuce or to get a break point. Roger made two mistakes before he closed the game after forcing an error from his rival. After two good returns, Roger was 15-30 up on return in game seven but Mark stayed focused and blasted three service winners to keep his serve, cutting the deficit to 5-2. Federer had no troubles to close the set on his own serve in game eight, with two service winners and two forced errors from Philippoussis. After only 70 minutes, Roger had a huge 2-0 advantage and he was very close to winning his first Grand Slam title. He couldn't have played much better in the first two sets, making only three unforced errors, and losing only two points in his service games only thrice, not letting any chance for Mark on return. Philippoussis needed a miracle now, he’d come back from 0-2 down times in his career, but those players were far from the level that Roger showed that day, so that task was pretty much like a mission impossible.
 

Nadal_Power

Semi-Pro
III set :

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The only thing that Mark could have done then was to set his hand free to play the rest of the match unburdened, with nothing to lose. He was good in the opening game, with two service winners and another with a volley at the net. This gave the crowd something to cheer about, as they wanted to watch more tennis. Federer was still unmatched on his serve, with another love service game, scored with two service winners and two unforced errors from Mark. In game three the Aussie again had to work hard before he held serve, being 0-30 down and only with the second deuce in the entire match. Roger was in a good position to create break-point chances after he won the opening two points, but Mark fired five service winners until the end of the game to keep his serve.

He could have been happy with this hold but his main problems stayed pretty much alive, as he won the points only with his serve. Once the point got underway, no matter how short it was, Roger had a clear advantage in them, with Philippoussis hitting only one winner from the field since the start of the second set! In game four, Federer was 40-15 after three unreturnable serves but Mark bounced back to reach his first deuce on return, 85 minutes since the start of the match. Mark won that eighth point with a nice smash at the net after eight strokes, which was very important for him. Another point with eight shots was seen after that but Roger was ready at that time, drawing Mark away from the baseline and forcing an error from his rival, to finish the game with a service winner. Mark was solid in game five, with three service winners and one more with a smash, to keep himself in the front. Mark was hoping for another good return game after the previous one but Federer had other plans, landing four service winners in a row to level the score at 3-3 after only 20 minutes of play in the third set.

Mark had another easy service game to go 4-3 up, mainly thanks to service winners. Federer responded with a love service game yet again and both players were now in a great rhythm on serve, reaching 5-5 without any glimpse of a chance for the returners. That all changed in game 11 when Mark faced two break points before he held his serve after two deuces, in what was the longest game of the match. In 10 points played he only had one service winner and that meant only one thing, trouble! Federer went 15-40 in front with return winner and costly double fault from Mark, his first since the end of the tie-break in the first set. Mark saved the first break point with a nice volley at the net and

Roger wasted his second chance with a forehand error. They exchanged backhand winners for another deuce, after which Mark finally found the service winner and finished the game after forcing an error from Roger. Now, it was interesting to see if those wasted chances would leave a mark on Roger, but he was just too good that day to be distracted by anything. He had two service winners and two more from the field in that 12th game to level the score and set up a tie-break, after his 16th straight hold in this final.

For the second time in the match, the tie-break was to decide the winner of the set, and probably the match, and Mark opened it. It couldn't have been worse for him, as Roger got a mini-break straight away, following a backhand error from Philippoussis. Still, Roger made an unforced error in the second point, but in the next three points he got the crucial advantage, building a 4-1 lead with two more mini-breaks. He gained the first one with a great return winner and another when Mark missed a backhand volley from the service line. Roger was safe in the next two service points, going 6-1 up, with five championship points. Mark could only come back to 6-3 with two good points on his serve but everything was over after Roger's 44th service winner in the 10th point as he won the tie-break 7-3 and started to celebrate his first Grand Slam title.


Overall match stats:

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Moose Malloy

G.O.A.T.
This is great work, thanks for posting. I wonder how many major finals there were when the winner faced no break points. I can think of 3 others - 78 USO, 84 W, 95 W.
 

Nadal_Power

Semi-Pro
This is great work, thanks for posting. I wonder how many major finals there were when the winner faced no break points. I can think of 3 others - 78 USO, 84 W, 95 W.

Thanks, in the article there's point by point description on the last 3 pages. That's a very good question, will need to research it
 

metsman

Talk Tennis Guru
Fed's 03 Wimby...just still amazes me to this day. You just don't see people play tennis like that. Quite possibly the highest level of tennis I have ever seen in the semis and finals. So free flowing and natural. For me that tournament was a confirmation of why I had chose to be a Fed fan despite some maddening and inconsistent years before that.
 

Moose Malloy

G.O.A.T.
This is great work, thanks for posting. I wonder how many major finals there were when the winner faced no break points. I can think of 3 others - 78 USO, 84 W, 95 W.

Yesterday Nadal joined Mac, Connors, Sampras and Fed as the only players to win a major final without facing break point.
 
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