(Provided by Tennis World USA)
Roger Federer claimed his first Major title in 2003 and became a dominant male tennis figure a year later. Federer was 74-6 in 2004, becoming world no. 1 and distancing himself from his opponents. Roger lifted three Major titles that year as the first player since Mats Wilander in 1988.
Roger secured his first Canada Masters crown, beating Andy Roddick in the title clash and extending his notable streak. Tim Henman, Rafael Nadal, Albert Costa and Gustavo Kuerten were the only players who defeated Roger before the summer.
The Swiss conquered Halle, Wimbledon and Gstaad and headed to Toronto to start the North American hard-court swing. Federer was the favorite at the Canada Masters, losing serve three times in six encounters and ousting world no.
2 Roddick 7-5, 6-3 in the title match. It was Roger’s fourth Masters 1000 crown and the 23rd straight victory. Federer and Roddick met for the eighth time, and the Swiss celebrated the seventh victory in an hour and 25 minutes.
Roger fended off all four break chances and kept the pressure on Andy. The American could not deal with it, missing the opportunity to do more damage with his forehand and not doing enough with his serve. Andy had an enormous chance to conquer the opening set after earning three break points at 4-4.
Roger stayed calm and repelled them all in style with three aces. They both raised the level in set number two, and the Swiss crossed the finish line with a single break at 4-3. The second serve was among the crucial elements of the match, as Federer took 19 out of 27 points.
He stole almost 40% of the return points and converted one break point in each set to emerge at the top.
Roger Federer claimed his first Canada Masters title in 2004 over Andy Roddick.
Andy’s forehand was another segment that ruined his chances for a better result.
He sprayed 16 unforced errors, many of those in the pivotal moments that could have turned the scoreboard in his favor. Roger’s third fundamental advantage comes from the service winners department. Andy failed to follow the rival’s pace, especially in the second set when Federer returned all but three opponent’s serves!
Roger was 24-15 in front in unreturned serves, hitting 12 in each set. Roddick was reduced to three in set number two, insufficient to keep him in contention. The Swiss had an almost identical number of winners from his forehand, backhand, and volley, with 19 direct points from the field that slightly overshadowed Andy’s 17, seven from his volley.Federer had 43 winners while Roddick counted 32.
Andy sprayed 25 unforced errors, 11 more than Roger, and did a fine job in the forced errors department, where he had the advantage, hitting five and drawing Roger’s 15. The Swiss completed the encounter with 43 winners and 30 mistakes.
In comparison, the American had 32 winners and errors, which was insufficient for a more favorable result. Roger won 15 of 26 most extended rallies, while Andy had a slim edge in the mid-range exchanges from five to eight shots, 20-19.
Federer toppled Roddick 41-31 in the shortest rallies up to four strokes thanks to those service winners. Previously winning Wimbledon and Gstaad, Roger became the first player with three consecutive ATP titles on three surfaces since Bjorn Borg in 1979!
