Roger Federer was the player with the most wins at the start of the 2003 season, winning trophies in Marseille and Dubai and playing at a high level in Munich and Rome. After an immediate exit from Roland Garros, Roger found his A-game on turf, winning the title at Halle and conquering Wimbledon in impressive style for his first major title at age 21.
With no time to rest or celebrate, Federer returned home and reached the final in Gstaad, losing in five sets to Jiri Novak and taking a few weeks off before Montreal, where he had a chance to become world number one. 1. Federer lost to Andy Roddick in the semifinals in the deciding game, staying sidelined from the ATP throne and narrowly escaping an early exit in Cincinnati a week later.
A qualifier Scott Draper, ranked 114th, had seven match points against the Swiss before Roger won 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10) after two hours and two minutes of thrilling battle. Federer has turned away the most match points to this point in a career, repeating that only in Melbourne last January against Tennys Sandgren.
Roger pushed back nine out of ten break opportunities. Still, he couldn’t find the rhythm on the return, scoring just one break in the second set and surviving those frightening moments in the decider’s final stages to avoid an unexpected defeat and advance to the second round.
Roger Federer had to save seven match points against a qualifying game in Cincinnati 2003.
“It should have been over when he opened a 6-2 lead in the tie-break, but I survived. I don’t think I’ve saved seven match points before, although I don’t remember those matches; they are not that frequent.
It was a difficult meeting for me. He played well to earn his opportunities, remained aggressive and got plenty of free points with his serve. I got used to the conditions; it’s different from Montreal, and I couldn’t make an easy transition.
I would have told you the same if I had lost. I played well on these match points and I’m happy to pass. I think I deserved to win; I was pretty relaxed. You have to accept the situation and strive at every point. When I came back to 7-7 I was no longer comfortable because I wanted to win.
You cannot practice for situations like today; you have to do your best until the end. Sometimes you can flip the dash, and sometimes you can’t. Last week in Montreal, I had to fight in the first round against Gaudio, chasing the no.
1 place and play with extra confidence. Today I wanted to hang on. The ball bounces much higher here in Cincinnati than in Montreal. The balls are different, and I don’t understand that, coming from the same brand.
You have to adapt to it every week, and it’s not easy when you play against a qualifier who has already played a few matches. I just tried to stay focused on my serve games and not fall behind like in the first game, ”said Roger Federer.
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