GSTAAD, Switzerland, 12 July 2004 — Roger Federer achieved a career-first yesterday as he lifted his first career trophy at home with a 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 defeat of Russian Igor Andreev in the final of the 544,750- euros Swiss Open.
A week after collecting a second straight Wimbledon title, the world number 1 came good at a Swiss event to erase memories of two losses in finals in Basel (2000 and 2001) and one here a year ago against Czech Jiri Novak.
The victory in one hour, 56 minutes on high-altitude fast clay at this alpine village follows on from Wimbledon glory last Sunday on grass. That’s a tough transition to make by any standard.
“It’s not easy to come straight from Wimbledon,” said Federer, now holder of seven titles in 2003 and boasting a 51-4 win-loss record. “To adapt to the clay from the grass is extremely difficult.”
Gaudio Faces Zabaleta in All-Argentine Final
In Bastad, Sweden, French Open champion Gaston Gaudio gave Swedish teenager Robin Soderling a claycourt lesson yesterday, winning 6-4, 6-2 to reach the Swedish Open final.
Argentine Gaudio will face compatriot and defending champion Mariano Zabaleta, who continued his good run at the tournament with a convincing 6-1, 6-4 win over Chilean sixth seed Fernando Gonzalez.
The final will be played today because of rain delays. Play was washed out on Saturday and the start of the semifinals was delayed yesterday.
Rusedski Reaches Final at Newport Tennis
In Newport, Rhode Island, Unseeded Greg Rusedski, the only former champ in the field, won a second-set tiebreaker to defeat Antony Dupuis of France 7-5, 7-6 (12-10), in the semifinals of the ATP Hall of Fame Tennis Championship.
In final, the 31-year-old Rusedski will face No. 7 seed Alexander Popp of Germany, who slipped past No. 5 Cyril Saulnier of France, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5). The 6ft 7in Popp will be appearing in his first career final. He reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and top seed Vincent Spadea in the quarterfinals here on Thursday.
Austria Destroy Navratilova’s Final Fed Cup Dream
In Paris, Martina Navratilova’s dreams of ending her career with a Fed Cup win were crushed yesterday when 17-time champions America were knocked out by Austria in the quarterfinals at Innsbruck.
The 47-year-old, who was due to play the final doubles rubber of the two-day clash with Lisa Raymond, could only watch helplessly as Barbara Schett and then Barbara Schwartz won their reverse singles to give Austria an unassailable 3-1 lead.
Austria will be playing in the semifinals for only the fourth time thanks to Schwartz’s dramatic 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 10-8 three-hour win over Raymond which followed Barbara Schett’s earlier 6-2, 6-3 victory over Chanda Rubin.
The Americans, who had only lost once to Austria in seven previous meetings, went into the tie without the services of Serena and Venus Williams as well as Jennifer Capriati.
Meanwhile, Amelie Mauresmo put her Wimbledon semifinal disappointment behind her with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-2 victory over Francesco Schiavone to give holders France an unassailable 3-0 lead against Italy in Rimini.
In Buenos Aires, Vera Zvonareva, who was called in as a late replacement for Svetlana Kuznetsova, clinched victory for Russia against Argentina in their quarterfinal.
World No. 13 Zvonareva defeated Mariana Diaz-Oliva, who replaced Natalia Gussoni, 6-3, 6-0 in just over an hour to see Russia through to the semifinals with a 3-1 lead.
Earlier, French Open champion Anastasia Myskina scored her second straight-sets victory of the weekend when she defeated Gisela Dulko 6-1, 7-5 in 72 minutes.
