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Lot Essay
“You start to know you’re not going to miss the forehand winner and you know exactly what shot to hit when you serve. Those are very rare moments in sport, and I’m lucky to have them once in a while.” (Roger Federer, New York Times, 2006)
Roger travelled to New York in the knowledge that a victory at the 2006 U.S. Open would replicate his 2004 achievement of winning three out of the four Grand Slams available in the calendar year. He came into the tournament in good form, having triumphed at Wimbledon and then also winning the Rogers Cup in Toronto. He again defeated Tim Henman and Nikolay Davydenko en route to his sixth consecutive Grand Slam final, where he faced Andy Roddick.
This was the third time that Roddick had faced Roger in a major final after two defeats at Wimbledon. Urged on by his home crowd, the American claimed the second set as a result of huge serving and power which rocked his opponent. The third set proved to be the decisive battle, with Roger breaking at the last moment to clinch it 7-5, before going on to seal a third U.S. Open title in the fourth.
In doing so, Roger became the first player in tennis history to record a trio of consecutive Wimbledon and U.S. Open victories. This success would also spur him on to glory in a very different and more personal setting. In October, he won the Swiss Indoors in Basel for the first time. As a 12-year old he’d been a ball boy in this very tournament.
Roger travelled to New York in the knowledge that a victory at the 2006 U.S. Open would replicate his 2004 achievement of winning three out of the four Grand Slams available in the calendar year. He came into the tournament in good form, having triumphed at Wimbledon and then also winning the Rogers Cup in Toronto. He again defeated Tim Henman and Nikolay Davydenko en route to his sixth consecutive Grand Slam final, where he faced Andy Roddick.
This was the third time that Roddick had faced Roger in a major final after two defeats at Wimbledon. Urged on by his home crowd, the American claimed the second set as a result of huge serving and power which rocked his opponent. The third set proved to be the decisive battle, with Roger breaking at the last moment to clinch it 7-5, before going on to seal a third U.S. Open title in the fourth.
In doing so, Roger became the first player in tennis history to record a trio of consecutive Wimbledon and U.S. Open victories. This success would also spur him on to glory in a very different and more personal setting. In October, he won the Swiss Indoors in Basel for the first time. As a 12-year old he’d been a ball boy in this very tournament.