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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:

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

•An Open Era record 13th consecutive win in a tournament finals.

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

•A 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.

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

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

•A 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.



 
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