After a slow start to the season, Roger Federer picked up form in February 2003. Federer won titles in Marseille and Dubai and recorded four Davis Cup singles victories as Switzerland reached the World Group semi-final. After taking a few weeks off, Federer returned to the courts in Munich, where he lifted the title in style and excelled a week later in Rome, advancing to his second Masters 1000 final on clay, losing to Félix Mantilla in sets. corridos. The Swiss failed to defend the title in Hamburg and suffered an early loss to Luis Horna at Roland Garros, giving him plenty of time to prepare for the grass-court season. Roger disposed of Nicolas Kiefer in the Halle final to claim his first ATP crown on the fastest surface, which propelled him to Wimbledon, where he went on to win his first Major trophy. Federer dropped just one set in seven meetings, delivering incredible tennis against Andy Roddick and Mark Philippoussis to take the pressure off himself and put the first Major trophy in his cabinet. Restlessly, Roger competed at his home event, in Gstaad, on clay, suffering a five-set loss to Jiri Novak in the title match and earning the chance to become world number 1 in Montreal and Cincinnati. In the semifinal of the Canadian Open, Andy Roddick dropped Roger in the deciding tie break to remove him from the ATP throne. The Swiss also missed the opportunity in Cincinnati, after losing to David Nalbandian. “I can say that I am ready to take the first big step at the US Open. I had a few days off before coming here to practice, I am willing to improve my results in New York. Facing Andy Roddick on hard courts and on grass it’s a totally different experience. In Montreal, he fell further behind on second serve returns and tried to be more aggressive on his second serve. The ball bounces much higher on hard courts, and you have to play longer rallies from behind.”
Federer has dabbled in various other interests
According to Godsick, Roger Federer also wanted to “win badly” and that ensured he always left it all out on the court. “I always say he’s a choirboy killer,” Tony Godsick told CNBC. “This guy, when you go on the court with him, he wants to win and he wants to win badly. He doesn’t want you to win any games, he doesn’t want you to win any points,” the American added. “I never felt that he doesn’t enjoy it,” Godsick expressed. “I think that’s why he has been so successful for so long because he absolutely enjoys the sport, everything the sport has to give.”
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