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After back-to-back quarterfinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2001, Roger Federer failed to achieve the same level at the major tournaments of the following two years. Federer was eager to change that at Wimbledon 2003, having won his first grass-court title in Halle a few weeks earlier and hoping to repeat it at the All England Club.
Roger only dropped one set against Hyung-Taik Lee, Stefan Koubek and Mardy Fish to meet in week two. The Swiss defeated Feliciano López in the fourth set despite a serious back injury that nearly caused him to lose the first set and perhaps the entire match.
In the quarterfinals, Federer defeated an injured Sjeng Schalken to set up the highly anticipated clash against Andy Roddick, with two youngsters battling it out for their first Major final. Federer played at a high level to score a 7-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory in one hour and 43 minutes.
Roger avoided a set point in the first set tiebreak and never looked back in sets two and three. Roddick blew his only two break chances early in the second set. That was pretty much all he did on the return, struggling to find his rhythm and taking three breaks to propel Roger over the finish line.
With 34 service winners and 40 power shots from the court, Federer made only 35 errors to master his shots well and mount the pressure on the other side of the net. After the match, Roger said that this result gave him a lot of confidence, showing that he is Major material and hoping for more of the same in the final against Mark Philippoussis.
"I still have one game to play, and if I don't win the title, I will try to come back and succeed in the next few years.
Tony Godsick talks about Federer
Sharing his thoughts on Roger Federer's illustrious and storied career, Tony Godsick feels that the Swiss great had long-term success at the pro tennis level mainly because he always enjoyed the sport.
"I never felt that he doesn't enjoy it," Godsick expressed. "I think that's why he has been so successful for so long because he absolutely enjoys the sport, everything the sport has to give. I always say he's a choirboy killer," Tony Godsick told CNBC.
"This guy, when you go on the court with him, he wants to win and he wants to win badly. He doesn't want you to win any games, he doesn't want you to win any points," the American added.