Roger Federer made a name for himself at Wimbledon 2001 after defeating the legendary Pete Sampras in five sets en route to the quarter-finals at the All England Club. A year later, Mario Ancic surprised Federer in straight sets in the first round, and the Swiss seemed eager to recover in 2003, especially after winning the first ATP title on grass a few weeks earlier in Halle.
In the first round, Roger Hyung-Taik displaced Lee 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 on court 2 and moved to center court for the following encounter against his good friend Stefan Koubek, whom he beat 7-5, 6 -1, 6-1 in an hour and 17 minutes.
Federer lost 22 points in 13 service games and needed some time in the first set to find the rhythm before he stormed over the Austrian, dominated in sets two and three and brought a total of seven breaks, while he only offered Stefan three opportunities.
Koubek got off to a promising start, taking a 5-2 lead with a single break before Roger recovered. The Swiss won the last five games and blocked a set point on serve at 3-5 for a massive boost that led him to 17 of the last 19 games and a third-round spot.
There was a rain delay in the opening set and Roger used this well to regain his game and keep the upper hand after they returned.
Roger Federer defeated Stefan Koubek in the second round of Wimbledon in 2003
“It’s a big change from playing on Court 2 and suddenly on Center Court.
It may be the best place on the planet right now; It is extraordinary to go there with my friend Stefan Koubek. In the first sentence I needed some time to get used to the larger space.
After the rain delay, I came back, played more aggressive tennis, served better, and changed a few things that Peter and I had been working on on the break. Stefan hit the ball very hard at the beginning and it was difficult for me to get the upper hand in the rallies.
I almost lost the first sentence and am happy to get through in straight sentences. The grass is quite slippery and you have to be careful; I fell twice and could have hurt myself.
It doesn’t help if you always think about falling; it affects your movement. Often times, you don’t know why you slipped and that worries you a little. It’s important to forget about that and move on.
I can always improve my service and volleyball, but it worked out well today, as has my return since my first training runs here. My next rival has a strong serve and we’ll see what happens.
I’m not thinking about the match with Mardy yet. I know he’s a dangerous rival; he likes to play on fast surfaces and has a solid all-round game. I have to be careful and prepare myself optimally, “said Roger Federer.
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