MONTREAL, 12 August 2003 — Andy Roddick captured the biggest title of his career with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Argentine David Nalbandian in the rain-interrupted final of the Montreal Masters on Sunday.
The sixth seeded American cruised to his fourth tournament victory of the season and first Masters crown with a fair amount of assistance from his unseeded opponent, who committed 27 unforced errors.
“It’s my biggest title so far and hopefully it will be a good stepping stone to the Open”, said Roddick, who remained fifth in the ATP Champions Race but moved to within eight points of third-placed Andre Agassi.
Nalbandian got a break point in the opening game of the first set but Roddick’s trademark cannon serve saved it.
The 20-year-old American then broke Nalbandian twice.
In the second set, the players swapped breaks on unforced errors, but Roddick broke the 21 year-old Argentine twice more to win the $2.45 million tournament a year after losing in the final to Guillermo Canas.
“He didn’t have to do many things today. I couldn’t play my game,” Nalbandian said.
The match started an hour-and-a-half late because of rain, which also forced the players back in the locker room for almost an hour in the second set when Roddick was leading 4-2.
“I was close to winning and was kind of jittery when I went into the locker room and didn’t really feel like sitting down,” Roddick said.
Roddick has now won 24 of his last 26 matches under new coach Brad Gilbert, who promised to go sky-diving with his pupil if he won in Montreal.
