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After failing to play his best tennis in Indian Wells and Miami in 2003, Roger Federer skipped Monte Carlo due to sickness and started his clay-court swing in Munich. The Swiss played well above his rivals, claimed the seventh ATP title and gathered a boost ahead of the Rome Masters.
With no time to celebrate, the Federer went to the Italian capital and extended the winning streak, losing one set en route to the quarter-final and setting the semi-final clash against Juan Carlos Ferrero. In what should have been a thrilling contest between the leading youngsters of men's tennis, the crowd at Foro Italico watched them for less than an hour, as the Spaniard retired while trailing 6-4, 4-2 due to a shoulder injury.
Roger Federer claimed the first Major title at Wimbledon 2003.
Thus, Roger advanced to his third Masters 1000 final and the first after Hamburg last year, seeking big points and a chance to reduce the gap to Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt.
Asked about Major titles and the ATP throne, Federer admitted he would love to achieve that in the future. The Swiss explained that it takes a lot of time to reach those goals, as you have to play on a high level at least for a year to get in contention.
Also, he was confident in his abilities at the most notable tennis scene, and he would prove that two months later at Wimbledon. "I'm not too far away from winning Majors; my ranking shows that and also the way I'm playing and the list of players I have defeated.
It takes one year of notable results and playing on a high level to get a chance to fight for no. 1 spot or a Major title. I'm not thinking about becoming no. 1 now; I'm going match by match, trying to be as consistent as possible.
If I get a chance to fight for the ATP throne, I will try my best to get there. At the moment, I'm too far away from Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt in terms of the points. You need more than one Major to get closer to them; that's why I will try to go deep at every event and maybe catch them on the biggest scene," Roger Federer said.