After a perfect close to the 2003 season, Roger Federer started the next without a coach, parting ways with Peter Lundgren after four years. Heading to Melbourne, Roger wanted to show his skills and achieve the first notable result in Australia, losing to David Nalbandian in a great duel a year ago.
The Swiss passed three rivals outside the top-100 to set up the clash against local star Lleyton Hewitt. With a negative 2-9 record against the Aussie, Federer made sure to improve on that, beating Lleyton 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 in two hours and 18 minutes for the first quarter-final. in Melbourne.
There, Federer faced another player he had a bad record against, David Nalbandian. After suffering two major defeats against the Argentine in 2003 at the Australian Open and the US Open, Roger was eager to avoid another.
He achieved a 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 victory in two hours and 41 minutes for the second semi-final at Majors after Wimbledon. Federer won six more points than David, fired 20 aces and defended eight of the 11 break opportunities, challenging David to repeat those numbers.
The Argentine did his best to keep in touch, suffering five breaks of Roger’s 12 chances and losing focus in crucial moments to push the opponent. Federer erased a break point at 5-5 in the first set with a serve, took a momentum and broke Nalbandian a few minutes later 7-5.
Roger Federer parted ways with Peter Lundgren before Australia 2004
David led 2-0 and 4-3 in set number two, losing three straight games and allowing Federer to take it and open a huge lead.
Losing ground in the final stages of the first two sets, Nalbandian fixed that in the third, taking Roger’s serve at 5-5 and catching it with a 7-5 big winner, expecting more of the same for the rest of the match.
Instead, Roger took a 3-0 lead in set number four and sealed the deal with a service winner in game nine for the first semifinal in Melbourne, setting up the clash against Juan Carlos Ferrero.
“It should be a similar experience against Juan Carlos Ferrero, with a lot of career and smart shots to take the point. I don’t think he got four aces in a row, especially at this stage. I’ve been hitting with juniors in recent days; I don’t have a coach and I like to play with juveniles.
Tomorrow I will train with the Swiss junior; I know it and it should be fun. It should be tough against Juan Carlos Ferrero. I have to play against three first-rate opponents, like in the Masters Cup, “said Roger Federer.
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