Roger Federer was one of the players to beat in 2013 after winning his first Wimbledon crown. Roger qualified for his second Masters Cup despite blowing his chances of becoming world number 1 that summer. Federer experienced early exits in Basel and Paris before embracing the trip to Houston, hoping to put in a strong run at the final event of the season.
In his first match in the ATP elite, Federer beat Andre Agassi 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 after two hours and 25 minutes. The Swiss dropped the opening set and fended off both match points late in the decider to clinch the win and start winning.
Federer took a 5-3 lead in the decider before Agassi staged the comeback. The American recovered the break after a double fault from the Swiss and kept pace in front of the home fans. A forehand winner gave Agassi the first match point at 5-5 in the tie break.
Roger parried it with a serve winner before making a forehand error to find himself 7-6 down. A gutsy forehand winner down the line on the 14th point kept the youngster alive, picking up another point on the return and sealing the deal with a forehand winner down the court.
Roger remembered the first match against Andre in Basel in 1998, when he was still 17 years old. The American prevailed in no time, and the Swiss greatly improved his game over the next five years to become one of the best players in the world.
“Andre and I haven’t played much. I couldn’t do much against him in Basel when I was 17, and I almost beat him in Miami this year. It’s nice to get a win against a player of his caliber.”
Federer always wanted to be marketed well
Unlike Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have always been in a much better space in terms of marketability and brand appeal, as per Mike Nakajima.
“I’m not sure Rafa wants to be the highest-paid endorser in the world. I don’t think he cares,” Nakajima said. “Rafa is Rafa, he has done extremely well and I don’t think he needs anything else. Roger wanted to be marketed, so he appealed to different brands, audiences and consumer groups.
And his management company’s done an amazing job,” he added. “He’s (Federer) able to appeal to any audience. And people believe that he’s saying the truth, whatever Roger pitches. He’s that believable.”
