Marcus Sarstrand once knocked down the big man, Roger Federer
Knocking down the Swiss tennis master, Roger Federer at any stage in a player’s professional life could be such a stuff that makes a player full of him.
However, it was not the case with the Sweden countrymen Marcus Sarstrand, a Spartanburg (S.C.) occupant and the top seeded singles player from the men’s side at this week's City of Asheville Open Tennis tournament.
During his interview on telephone yesterday morning, the calm Sarstrand was pretty generous when questioned about knocking down Federer in a qualifying match in the Stockholm Open back in 1999. The Swedish tennis ace, Marcus Sarstrand met the tennis master, Roger Federer just once on that occasion and successfully managed to win it in the end.
“Of course there is certainly no doubt about the fact that I enjoyed that victory to a great extent, it's a great feeling to have 1-0 versus the big man,” said the thirty one years old Starstrand who turned professional back in 1997 and gained his highest world ATP ranking of two hundred and forty back in 2005. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to play against the top class world player ever again all through my professional tennis career”, Sarstrand added.
Marcus has a bye for today's round number one at the Asheville Open and will experience today's champion between David Orces and Kelvis Brewer at Aston Park at 11:30 a.m.
Roger, who has registered an all time record of as many Grand Slam titles as sixteen, was at that time just eighteen years of age and listed number fifty seven in the world by the ATP world ranking when Sarstrand knocked him down with the final score as 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (3).
Sarstrand while commenting on the match in his yesterday’s telephonic interview said that Federer’s drawback at that time was definitely hi backhand; however an indication of brilliance was even clear at that stage of his career as well.
“I remember people were discussing that he will be an extremely fine player in the near future as well as praising his Swedish coach, and I also knew that he will soon jump in the top ten world rankings”, Sarstrand added.
“However even then no one thought that he could do what the bog man has actually done,” Marcus continued. “As after Pistol Pete captured a total of fourteen 14 Grand Slam titles, I didn't imagine that it was even in the cards to surpass his record. And I never expected Roger to be that good, all I thought was his top ten rankings for sure”.
As far as Sarstrand is concerned, he does not contest on the ATP tour however he has reached in the finals in a total of four championships so far this season.
His name emphatically gets down this week's category for defending Asheville Open winner Francisco Rodriguez.
“I am aware of the number one seeded player, he is been under discussion”, said Rodriguez, who will play his very first match on Friday. “I have never faced him however I know about every single player as well as their class, so it is definitely going to be a tight call”, he added.
Rodriguez as well as the 2008 winner William Noblitt contested for the singles tournament in the past two seasons however they are in the similar half of the category this season.
As far as the women’s side is concerned, the nine times winner Renata Marcinkowska is making his comeback in the tour.
“Every season there are some new faces along with the tough experienced ones,” said Marcinkowska, who is forty five years of age. “Every season is a different competition, and I am certainly getting weaker in terms of toughness”, she added.
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