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Federer Storms to His Third Final

Friday, July 1, 2005

Nobody in tennis battles more gallantly than Lleyton Hewitt, but gallantry alone was simply not enough in the face of another master class from Roger Federer in today's semi-finals of the men's singles.

Bidding for a hat-trick of titles, the Swiss advanced to Sunday's final by defeating the Australian - a Wimbledon winner in 2002 - 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) in two hours seven minutes. Hewitt's tenacity and determination, in the face of Federer's firepower and shot-making genius, were not enough to save him from an eighth successive defeat at the hands of the man who is indisputably world number one.

There was early indication for Hewitt what he would be up against when Federer unleashed his first ace to clinch the opening game and promptly followed by capturing the Hewitt serve after three deuces. In breaking the Australian, Federer produced one of his "miracle" shots, a forehand bent round the netpost and into the deepest corner of the court. Hewitt provided the best sort of tonic at once by breaking the mighty Federer serve, though it was a Swiss forehand error which brought it about, striking the tape as he went for a wrong-footing winner.

With the champion opting to stay back, even when his first serve was on target, the match rapidly resolved itself into a baseline battle, with Hewitt's two-fisted backhand combating Federer's one-handed stroke. Tirelessly though he ran and retrieved, it was soon clear that Hewitt's chief hope was to induce Federer errors through steady rallies, rather than go for the spectacular winner.

Hewitt succeeded in staying afloat through the next four games, but his hopes of salvaging the first set were capsized when Federer upped the pace to break for a second time and move into a 5-3 lead, a lead which became a one-set advantage after 36 minutes, set up by his third ace and then a serve which forced a netted backhand return from the Australian.

With the need to stabilise the drift of the match now becoming urgent, Hewitt worked as hard as only he can to blunt the Federer machine. Once again, his best was good enough only for four games of the second set before the defending champion pounced again, breaking for a 3-2 lead by courtesy of three backhand errors in that game from Hewitt.

That was all Federer needed to steer his way through to a two-set lead after one hour 11 minutes. He did, however, show rare fallibility by engineering, and then missing, a set point at 5-3 on the Hewitt serve when he netted a routine backhand. The delay was brief, as the Swiss served out for 6-4. He got to set point with a backhand drop volley of pure delicacy and then followed with a thunderous serve which Hewitt, at full stretch, chopped back into the netting.

Just in case Hewitt's morale needed dynamiting even further, Federer produced another of his shots from outer space in the fifth game of the third set. Hewitt uncorked a smash which would have won the point against most tennis professionals, but Federer, at full stretch to his right, somehow made contact for a forehand which dipped across Hewitt's body in mid-court, leaving him flat-footed and probably dazed.

Hewitt, facing another two break points, somehow escaped intact, but his nerves, and his temper, underwent another searching test in the next game when, with Federer at deuce on serve, a forehand from the champion was called out on the baseline. What would have given Hewitt a break point, his first since that early break in the opening set, was denied him by French umpire Pascal Maria's overrule, which was shown by TV replays to be correct.

Hewitt's determination kept the match alive into a tiebreak, but again Federer was the better man when it mattered and a Hewitt forehand into the netting saw the champion through to his third straight final.

Written by Ronald Atkin

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Lindsay Looks Forward to Final

Friday, 1 July, 2005

Lindsay Davenport doesn't need to watch a tape of Venus Williams' semi-final demolition of Maria Sharapova. She has played Williams 26 times before and leads the head-to-head 14-12. She has emerged the winner in the pair's past four clashes. She knows full well what she's up against in the final on Saturday.

When an insistent reporter informed Davenport that Venus "looked different yesterday than she's looked to us", implying that a date with a video player might be a good idea, the tournament's top seed wasn't fazed. "Then I'll take your word for it," she smiled. "If I don't know her game ..."

After all, Davenport has already experienced Venus at her best, including the Wimbledon title clash in 2000, which Williams won in straight sets. "She obviously must be playing well," Davenport said after completing her rain-delayed semi-final win over No.3 seed Amelie Mauresmo. "I don't think she's doing anything different than what she normally does in a match. I don't think she's now serving and volleying or slicing backhands."

But Davenport, the Wimbledon Champion in 1999, is clearly pleased that one of the busiest rivalries in women's tennis had been restored to centre stage. "It's great," she said. "She's definitely been struggling for two years or so since she's been back from injury. A lot of people have been not the most positive about her game. She's come back here. She feels comfortable on grass.

"I think that it [our rivalry] is so even. I think I've played her more than anyone on tour. We've both gone through so many transitions. In the beginning, I was always winning, then she was always winning. The last few times it's been me. But we both have kind evolved quite a bit and still play these close, crazy matches."

The similarities between the games of the two players - an obvious reason for their competitiveness - are not lost on Davenport. "We both hope to serve well and hold serve. We both have big groundies. I think she definitely covers the court better than I do. She's a tremendous athlete. I think for me it's about being more consistent with my shots, not spraying a lot of balls. When you have two big hitters that play, we don't necessarily have a lot of rallies. It's a lot of really short points. It's really about who serves and who gets the first hit in a rally."

Davenport said she thought the fact that two "veterans" were in the final was a reflection of the surface. "I think Americans tend to favour faster courts," she observed. "We definitely have shown that. I think you attribute that more to how fast the grass plays and our comfort level with big serves and big shots.

"This is what we play for, to try and win Grand Slams," Davenport added. "I've done a great job of competing at the Grand Slams the last year. Just haven't won any of them. I've come through a very tough draw here, playing a lot of good players. To be in the finals and come through these tough matches is pretty exhilarating. I look forward to the opportunity. Hopefully it works out."

Written by Adam Lincoln

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Day 12 Preview

Friday, 1 July, 2005

That opening line from Scotland's lovely melody Auld Lang Syne about "should auld acquaintance be forgot..." deserves an airing in the dressing rooms before this afternoon women's final since the acquaintance between Lindsay Davenport and Venus Williams is old, or auld, enough to go back eight years and encompass 26 previous matches.

You don't get much aulder than that in tennis these days. These two started out at the Indian Wells tournament in the spring of 1997 with Davenport winning and it has been roller coaster stuff ever since.

A bunch of wins for Lindsay, a steamrollering sequence by Venus which took in three victories on the grass here, and finally, four straight wins for Lindsay brings us to the present reckoning of 14 for Lindsay and 12 for Venus.

These American ladies ruled the Wimbledon roost for the three years from 1999 to 2001, Davenport winning the last final of the old century and Williams claiming the first two of the new one. Since then, times have been comparatively thin when it comes to the holding aloft of big-time trophies. The most recent of Lindsay's three Grand Slams was the Australian Open of 2000, while Venus won her fourth and last major title at the US Open in September 2001.

Try to hold back the tears, however. Between them, they have pocketed $35 million in official prize money and a good deal more from other sources such as sponsorships. Between them, they have held the number one spot in the rankings for 86 weeks. Between them, they have snaffled 79 WTA tour singles titles. And each of them has stood on the winner's rostrum at an Olympic Games, with attendant gold medal.

Today will be their 12th final, with Venus holding a 6-5 lead. All the Wimbledon matches have gone her way - the 2000 final, the 2001 semi-final and the 2003 quarter-final, which happens to be the last time she beat Davenport. All of Lindsay's four subsequent wins have been clocked up in the United States.

Davenport's number one ranking has been under threat of late from Maria Sharapova, but Maria's demise at the hands of Venus on Thursday ensures that Lindsay will not only hang onto the coveted top spot but will bolster her points lead, something she could hardly have been expecting in recent weeks as the Florida-based Russian surged ever closer.

The rise and rise of Venus at The Championships over the past fortnight has been as heartening as it is extraordinary. Brought low by injury, the older Williams girl has struggled to reclaim the form which saw her contest four successive Wimbledon finals between 2000 and 2003.

She denies being surprised by the turnaround, though. "I've been working hard, and hard work pays off," she said. "I feel like I deserve to be where I am. For me, there were never any doubts."

Lindsay thinks the resurrection of Venus is "great" and adds, "she feels comfortable on grass." True enough. Lindsay further acknowledges "Venus definitely covers the court better than I do. She's a tremendous athlete. For me, it's about being more consistent with my shots, not spraying a lot of balls."

A spray-free Lindsay would still be the favourite to collect the Venus Rosewater Dish this afternoon, but she struggled with her control at times in the marathon semi-final against Amelie Mauresmo and, as they say in the movie scripts, the force seems to be with the Williams girl right now.

Davenport clearly savours these Venus occasions, calling them "close, crazy matches". As she says, "We have played a lot of tough matches over the years", and there is no reason to think today's will be any less tough or close. Whether it will turn out crazy, we must wait and see. What is certain is that, win or lose, Venus will be back where she belongs this evening, back in the women's top ten.

Written by Ron Atkin