MELBOURNE, Australia, 31 January 2004 — Swiss Roger Federer was crowned the new world No. 1 of men’s tennis as he stormed into the Australian Open final with a crushing semifinal victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero yesterday.
Second seed Federer brushed aside the struggling Spanish third seed 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 in just 1hr 29min and has an absorbing final in store tomorrow with unseeded Russian Marat Safin.
Federer claimed the top ranking for the first time after year-end number one Andy Roddick was knocked out in the quarterfinals here by Safin.
“I don’t know how many people knew how much there was in this match for me because there was not only the chance to win the tournament in the final, but also at the same time to be number one in the world,” Federer said.
The Wimbledon champion, now into his second Grand Slam final, had the chance to take the top ranking last August but he was beaten by American Andy Roddick in a semifinal in Montreal.
It has been an outstanding fortnight for the stylish 22-year-old, who knocked over two of his tennis bogeymen, Lleyton Hewitt and David Nalbandian to reach yesterday’s semifinal.
In the end it was a cakewalk against Ferrero, who struggled with groin and thigh injuries and was a spent force in the third set. It is Federer’s 11th straight match win taking in his six victories here and his five wins at the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston last November.
Federer, who leads Safin 3-1 in head-to-head meetings, is looking forward to playing the Russian, who has had a sensational Open with wins over former world number one Roddick and four-time champion Andre Agassi in Thursday’s semifinal. It was a spectacular performance from Federer who broke the Spaniard’s service four times and served at a very high 72 percent.
Ferrero, who occupied the top ranking for eight weeks from September to November last year, said he would pull out of Spain’s Davis Cup tie with the Czech Republic in Brno next week and rest.
Federer fought off four break points in the seventh game of the opening set, but it signaled a change of fortunes for Ferrero.
The Spaniard’s serve was broken for the first time in the 10th to hand the Swiss second seed the opening set in 32 minutes.
Ferrero netted a blistering Federer forehand to set up three set points and then hit a forehand long for the set.
Suarez, Ruano Pascual Claim First Australian Title
Top-ranked Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez added to their growing list of doubles titles when they claimed their first Australian Open yesterday.
Spaniard Ruano Pascual and Argentine Suarez easily accounted for a slowing-starting Russian pair of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Elena Likhovtseva 6-4, 6-3 in only 75 minutes on Rod Laver Arena center court.
The victory was their fifth grand slam women’s doubles title.
It was a first success in Melbourne for Ruano Pascual and Suarez, who came desperately close to winning the title last year only to fall in three sets to Venus and Serena Williams. “Last year we lost the final so it’s more special,” Ruano Pascual said.
The two right-handers can now add the Australian title to their two French Open and two US Open crowns. The Russians struggled with their service games throughout the match, Likhovtseva handing Ruano Pascual and Suarez the first service break in the third game of the first set. Ruano Pascual and Suarez were a model of consistency and picked off many easy points at the net from indecisive groundstrokes by the Russians.
Comeback Dream Comes True for Paes
An emotional Leander Paes reached the mixed doubles final of the Australian Open yesterday in his first tournament since recovering from a brain abscess.
Indian cricket greats Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri were among those who rose to applaud the courageous Paes after he and 47-year-old Martina Navratilova, the defending champions, beat Jonathan Erlich and Liezel Huber 6-4, 6-4 at Melbourne Park. “It’s magic. It’s already a dream come true. In the final, we’ll just be playing for the cherries on top,” said a teary-eyed Paes, who was sidelined for five months with a non-malignant brain lesion.
