Roger Federer beat Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-2 in in the Year End Championship (Tennis Masters Cup) final, 2004 on hard court in Houston, USA
Federer was the defending champion and it was his second title at the event. Hewitt had won the two editions before that in 2001 and 2002, including with a semi-final win over Federer in 2002. The two had recently met in the US Open final with Federer winning. Federer had bagelled Hewitt 5 times in the pair's 4 matches in the year coming into this event
Federer won 62 points, Hewitt 40
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (30/47) 64%
- 1st serve points won (26/30) 87%
- 2nd serve points won (10/17) 59%
- Aces 9 (1 second serve)
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (17/47) 36%
Hewitt...
- 1st serve percentage (29/55) 53%
- 1st serve points won (15/29) 52%
- 2nd serve points won (14/26) 53%
- Aces 1
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (11/55) 20%
Serve Pattern
Federer served...
- to FH 66%
- to BH 32%
- to Body 2%
Hewitt served...
- to FH 52%
- to BH 44%
- to Body 4%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 41 (24 FH, 17 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 2 return-approaches
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 10 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- 5 Forced (3 FH, 2 BH)
- Return Rate (41/52) 79%
Hewitt made...
- 30 (20 FH, 10 BH), including 1 return-approach
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (2 FH, 1 BH)
- 5 Forced (5 FH)
- Return Rate (30/47) 64%
Break Points
Federer 3/8 (5 games)
Hewitt 0
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Federer 18 (7 FH, 3 BH, 6 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
Hewitt 7 (3 FH, 1 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
Federer's FHs - 4 cc (1 pass, 1 return, 1 at net), 2 dtl (1 pass) and 1 inside-in at net
- BHs - 2 dtl (1 pass) and 1 drop shot
- 3 from serve-volley points - all first volley FHVs
- 1 from a return-approach point - a FHV
- the OH was on the bounce
Hewitt's FHs - 1 cc pass and 2 inside-out
- BH - 1 dtl
- 1 from a return-approach point - 1 BHV
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Federer 22
- 18 Unforced (8 FH, 10 BH)
- 4 Forced (1 BH, 1 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.3
Hewitt 24
- 10 Unforced (5 FH, 5 BH)
- 14 Forced (7 FH, 4 BH, 1 FHV, 2 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Federer was...
- 14/18 (78%) at net, including...
- 4/5 (80%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 4/4 (100%) off 1st serve and...
- 0/1 off 2nd serve
---
- 1/2 return-approaching
Hewitt was...
- 7/14 (50%) at net, with...
- 1/1 return-approaching
- 1/2 forced back/retreated
Match Report
Classy demonstration from Federer. Hewitt doesn't play badly but just can't hang with him on a fast court
The match was supposed to have been best of 5 but prolonged rain led to it being truncated to best of 3
Standout stat is an interesting one. Federer forces 14 errors out of Hewitt, while hitting 18 winners. For him, that's a high proportion of forcing errors - and speaks to his having attacked with efficiency, especially in light of Hewitt's very good movement and his not being an easy player to force errors out off. On the other side, Hewitt can force just 4 errors. His offense isn't particularly strong, but Fed's defence is and the winner usually puts back in play Hewitt's forcing shots
Very good first set. Hewitt looks to keep rallies BH-BH and the two players are about equal of strength on the BH cc. Fed chooses to throw in odd slices too. Hewitt runsaround to hit FH inside-outs to them, not with great power. Fed's the more damaging changing up with BH longline and extra angled cc shots
And short slices drawing Hewitt to net are expertly played
The two moderately move one another around. Fed's more effective covering the ball.... he hits slightly harder neutrally and probably shades movement too. And Fed serves up a storm
Fed breaks to move ahead 2-0 in a 10 point game where he makes the UEs and also forces points to an end, finishing with a FH inside-out pass to a not good approach shot
Quality of play drops a bit in second set. Both players miss the odd regulation return, rallies become more ball-bashing. Hewitt becomes more error prone, Fed less inclined to collar action while still throwing out the odd great shot
Hewitt's down 0-40 in opening game but escapes with a hold, aided by a couple of dubious calls. From 2-2 though, he loses last 4 games
First break comes on back off strong play from Fed, the second weak play from Hewitt
Serve & Return
Good encounter between Fed serve and Hewitt return. Fed's best serves are unreturnable (9 aces), but Hewitt's steady against everything else. Just 8 return errors with most returns made firmly and with decent depth. Fed hits through even the few very deep returns and is able to command third ball regardless
Decent serving from Hewitt too, especially the second serve. Not overly powerful and he doesn't have Fed's precision wide placement but its quick enough court that his serving can be troublesome. And his second serves are almost same strength as his firsts
Fed though doesn't seem to find it difficult. 79% return rate is excellent on this court. Seems to read the serve and is never caught out by direction
Note both players serving majority to FH - Fed very high 66%, Hewitt 52%. That's a dubious choice from Hewitt and somewhat accounts for comfort of Fed's returning. Despite facing 8% more serves to FH, Fed has same number of errors across wings - and one extra UE on the BH. His FH returns are significantly more confident and firm than BHs... why does Hewitt serve there so much? He starts by serving a much higher proportion there but shifts more evenly when he finds it not going well
Note Hewitt winning 52% first serve points and 53% second serves, slightly surprising seeing he has 3 double faults. That has something to do with serving patterns - he serves to BH and body far more often off second serves than firsts. The lesson in this is pretty obvious. Don't serve too much to Federer's FH
Play - Baseline & Net
Controlled attack from Federer defines play
He's apt to knock away very strong FHs from regulation positions. Hewitt wisely - unlike with the serving - looks to keep things BH-BH
These rallies are about equal, Fed slightly stronger. Driving, his shots are as strong as Hewitt's and he slices short to bring Hewitt in before passing him. Hewitt winning just 6/13 points approaching from rallies and about half of those are when he's drawn forward
Federer's BH forces a good amount of Hewitt's high 11 groundstroke FEs. hard hit BH longline in particular is effective. Its also relatively error prone with 10 UEs (Hewitt has 5) but a strong BH match overall for Fed
FH-FH obviously not a good match-up from Hewitt's point of view. Fed hits firmer and is liable to take anything not deep (as opposed to short) to the cleaners - either ending the point in a stroke or taking charge of it
Difference in defence is significant. Hewitt engages in move-opponent-around play and Fed's able to retrieve balls efficiently. He tends to miss the easier shots in fact - small number of his UEs are on the move (i.e. fairly tough for UEs) while he gets the genuinely challenging balls back. By contrast, some of Hewitt's FEs are relatively mild, not requiring too much sideways movement. Depth as well as width from Federer makes his moderately attacking shots effective
Very sure net play from Fed too. He putsaway volleys above net like clockwork and wins 14/18 in forecourt. His approaches tend to flow organically from having seized initiative from the back (as opposed to dashing forward from neutral position)... good way of finishing points. And 4/5 serve-volleying - 3 of them winners
Hewitt's not bad on the volley either but its often not his choice to come in and Federer is outstanding on the pass
Summing up, commanding showing from Federer. Excellent serving and coping with Hewitt's good returns very well plus sure returning (somewhat helped by Hewitt's quesitonable directional choices) is the background of play. Of action, Fed is able to seize command from the back from neutral positions fairly safely in a way Hewitt can't match. Not a bad showing from Hewitt, he's just completely outclassed
Stats for 2003 final and round robin match between Federer and Andre Agassi - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...d-championship-final-round-robin-2003.675809/
Federer was the defending champion and it was his second title at the event. Hewitt had won the two editions before that in 2001 and 2002, including with a semi-final win over Federer in 2002. The two had recently met in the US Open final with Federer winning. Federer had bagelled Hewitt 5 times in the pair's 4 matches in the year coming into this event
Federer won 62 points, Hewitt 40
Serve Stats
Federer...
- 1st serve percentage (30/47) 64%
- 1st serve points won (26/30) 87%
- 2nd serve points won (10/17) 59%
- Aces 9 (1 second serve)
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (17/47) 36%
Hewitt...
- 1st serve percentage (29/55) 53%
- 1st serve points won (15/29) 52%
- 2nd serve points won (14/26) 53%
- Aces 1
- Double Faults 3
- Unreturned Serve Percentage (11/55) 20%
Serve Pattern
Federer served...
- to FH 66%
- to BH 32%
- to Body 2%
Hewitt served...
- to FH 52%
- to BH 44%
- to Body 4%
Return Stats
Federer made...
- 41 (24 FH, 17 BH), including 1 runaround FH & 2 return-approaches
- 1 Winner (1 FH)
- 10 Errors, comprising...
- 5 Unforced (2 FH, 3 BH)
- 5 Forced (3 FH, 2 BH)
- Return Rate (41/52) 79%
Hewitt made...
- 30 (20 FH, 10 BH), including 1 return-approach
- 8 Errors, comprising...
- 3 Unforced (2 FH, 1 BH)
- 5 Forced (5 FH)
- Return Rate (30/47) 64%
Break Points
Federer 3/8 (5 games)
Hewitt 0
Winners (including returns, excluding aces)
Federer 18 (7 FH, 3 BH, 6 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
Hewitt 7 (3 FH, 1 BH, 1 FHV, 1 BHV, 1 OH)
Federer's FHs - 4 cc (1 pass, 1 return, 1 at net), 2 dtl (1 pass) and 1 inside-in at net
- BHs - 2 dtl (1 pass) and 1 drop shot
- 3 from serve-volley points - all first volley FHVs
- 1 from a return-approach point - a FHV
- the OH was on the bounce
Hewitt's FHs - 1 cc pass and 2 inside-out
- BH - 1 dtl
- 1 from a return-approach point - 1 BHV
Errors (excluding returns and serves)
Federer 22
- 18 Unforced (8 FH, 10 BH)
- 4 Forced (1 BH, 1 FHV, 1 FH1/2V, 1 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 48.3
Hewitt 24
- 10 Unforced (5 FH, 5 BH)
- 14 Forced (7 FH, 4 BH, 1 FHV, 2 BHV)
- Unforced Error Forcefulness Index 46
(Note 1: all half-volleys refer to such shots played at net. Half -volleys played from other parts of the court are included within relevant groundstroke counts)
(Note 2: the Unforced Error Forcefulness Index is an indicator of how aggressive the average UE was. The numbers presented for these two matches are keyed on 4 categories - 20 defensive, 40 neutral, 50 attacking and 60 winner attempt)
Net Points & Serve-Volley
Federer was...
- 14/18 (78%) at net, including...
- 4/5 (80%) serve-volleying, comprising...
- 4/4 (100%) off 1st serve and...
- 0/1 off 2nd serve
---
- 1/2 return-approaching
Hewitt was...
- 7/14 (50%) at net, with...
- 1/1 return-approaching
- 1/2 forced back/retreated
Match Report
Classy demonstration from Federer. Hewitt doesn't play badly but just can't hang with him on a fast court
The match was supposed to have been best of 5 but prolonged rain led to it being truncated to best of 3
Standout stat is an interesting one. Federer forces 14 errors out of Hewitt, while hitting 18 winners. For him, that's a high proportion of forcing errors - and speaks to his having attacked with efficiency, especially in light of Hewitt's very good movement and his not being an easy player to force errors out off. On the other side, Hewitt can force just 4 errors. His offense isn't particularly strong, but Fed's defence is and the winner usually puts back in play Hewitt's forcing shots
Very good first set. Hewitt looks to keep rallies BH-BH and the two players are about equal of strength on the BH cc. Fed chooses to throw in odd slices too. Hewitt runsaround to hit FH inside-outs to them, not with great power. Fed's the more damaging changing up with BH longline and extra angled cc shots
And short slices drawing Hewitt to net are expertly played
The two moderately move one another around. Fed's more effective covering the ball.... he hits slightly harder neutrally and probably shades movement too. And Fed serves up a storm
Fed breaks to move ahead 2-0 in a 10 point game where he makes the UEs and also forces points to an end, finishing with a FH inside-out pass to a not good approach shot
Quality of play drops a bit in second set. Both players miss the odd regulation return, rallies become more ball-bashing. Hewitt becomes more error prone, Fed less inclined to collar action while still throwing out the odd great shot
Hewitt's down 0-40 in opening game but escapes with a hold, aided by a couple of dubious calls. From 2-2 though, he loses last 4 games
First break comes on back off strong play from Fed, the second weak play from Hewitt
Serve & Return
Good encounter between Fed serve and Hewitt return. Fed's best serves are unreturnable (9 aces), but Hewitt's steady against everything else. Just 8 return errors with most returns made firmly and with decent depth. Fed hits through even the few very deep returns and is able to command third ball regardless
Decent serving from Hewitt too, especially the second serve. Not overly powerful and he doesn't have Fed's precision wide placement but its quick enough court that his serving can be troublesome. And his second serves are almost same strength as his firsts
Fed though doesn't seem to find it difficult. 79% return rate is excellent on this court. Seems to read the serve and is never caught out by direction
Note both players serving majority to FH - Fed very high 66%, Hewitt 52%. That's a dubious choice from Hewitt and somewhat accounts for comfort of Fed's returning. Despite facing 8% more serves to FH, Fed has same number of errors across wings - and one extra UE on the BH. His FH returns are significantly more confident and firm than BHs... why does Hewitt serve there so much? He starts by serving a much higher proportion there but shifts more evenly when he finds it not going well
Note Hewitt winning 52% first serve points and 53% second serves, slightly surprising seeing he has 3 double faults. That has something to do with serving patterns - he serves to BH and body far more often off second serves than firsts. The lesson in this is pretty obvious. Don't serve too much to Federer's FH
Play - Baseline & Net
Controlled attack from Federer defines play
He's apt to knock away very strong FHs from regulation positions. Hewitt wisely - unlike with the serving - looks to keep things BH-BH
These rallies are about equal, Fed slightly stronger. Driving, his shots are as strong as Hewitt's and he slices short to bring Hewitt in before passing him. Hewitt winning just 6/13 points approaching from rallies and about half of those are when he's drawn forward
Federer's BH forces a good amount of Hewitt's high 11 groundstroke FEs. hard hit BH longline in particular is effective. Its also relatively error prone with 10 UEs (Hewitt has 5) but a strong BH match overall for Fed
FH-FH obviously not a good match-up from Hewitt's point of view. Fed hits firmer and is liable to take anything not deep (as opposed to short) to the cleaners - either ending the point in a stroke or taking charge of it
Difference in defence is significant. Hewitt engages in move-opponent-around play and Fed's able to retrieve balls efficiently. He tends to miss the easier shots in fact - small number of his UEs are on the move (i.e. fairly tough for UEs) while he gets the genuinely challenging balls back. By contrast, some of Hewitt's FEs are relatively mild, not requiring too much sideways movement. Depth as well as width from Federer makes his moderately attacking shots effective
Very sure net play from Fed too. He putsaway volleys above net like clockwork and wins 14/18 in forecourt. His approaches tend to flow organically from having seized initiative from the back (as opposed to dashing forward from neutral position)... good way of finishing points. And 4/5 serve-volleying - 3 of them winners
Hewitt's not bad on the volley either but its often not his choice to come in and Federer is outstanding on the pass
Summing up, commanding showing from Federer. Excellent serving and coping with Hewitt's good returns very well plus sure returning (somewhat helped by Hewitt's quesitonable directional choices) is the background of play. Of action, Fed is able to seize command from the back from neutral positions fairly safely in a way Hewitt can't match. Not a bad showing from Hewitt, he's just completely outclassed
Stats for 2003 final and round robin match between Federer and Andre Agassi - https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/ind...d-championship-final-round-robin-2003.675809/
