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Starting the season ranked 30th, Roger Federer made great progress in the first half of 2001, winning the first ATP title and playing in the quarter-final in Miami, Monte Carlo, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. At the All England Club, the young Swiss dethroned the seven-time champion Pete Sampras before losing to Tim Henman in the battle for the semis, struggling with a groin injury and reaching only one final by the end of the year, at home in Basel.
Thus, Roger couldn't fight for the place at the Masters Cup in Sydney and was eager to change that in the following season when he also wanted to crack the top-10. The Swiss spoke about his goals after a dominant 6-1, 6-1 victory over Andrei Pavel in the quarter-final in Miami, ousting the Romanian in less than an hour and hoping for more of the same in the rest of the tournament and the season if he stays healthy.
"I would love to reach the top-10 as soon as possible; that's special for any player. I have been around the top-15 for quite some time now and would love to take the next step. The result here will only help me in that quest and it should be a good match tomorrow as well, facing Lleyton Hewitt or Marat Safin.
I would love to reach Shanghai at the end of the season. Last year, I was a little bit unfortunate with the injury I had at Wimbledon. Who knows, I might not have made it anyway but I was disappointed with the way I played at the end of the season.
I was in the final in Basel but that was the only good result at the end of the season; this year, I can achieve all the goals if I stay healthy."
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