The players involvedRoger Federer and Arno Di Pasquale
- Roger Federer, the rising star of men’s tennis
Roger Federer was born in 1981. After he finished 1998 as the junior world No. 1, Federer performed well in his first professional outings. In his first five ATP appearances between 1998 and 1999, he reached the quarterfinals three times, in Toulouse, Marseille and Rotterdam. His incredible skills took the tennis world by surprise and he was soon heralded as the future world no.1. In 2000, Federer reached his first ATP Tour final in Marseille (losing to Switzerland’s Marc Rosset 2–6, 6–3, 7–6) and by September. he was already 43rd in the ATP ranking.
- Arno di Pascual. the Frenchman is 62nd in the world
Arnaud The P:asquale was born in 1979. He reached his first final on the ATP Tour in 1998 in Bucharest (losing to Francisco Clavet 6-4, 2-6, 6-2) and in the same year he broke into the top 100, ending the season as world No. 81. In 1999, he reached the fourth round. Roland Garros (losing to eventual runner-up Andrei Medvedev 7-6, 7-6, 6-1), and in October he won his first and only title in Palermo, defeating Alberto Berasategui 6-1, 6-3 in the final.
The placeSydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre
The Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Center is a tennis and multi-purpose sports facility located in Sydney Olympic Park, Australia. It was built in 1999 and hosted the tennis events of the 2000 Summer Olympics. Its Center Court, later renamed the Ken Rosewall Arena, had a capacity of 10,500 at the time.
The factsFederer feels the pressure in the deciding set
On September 26, 2000, before the bronze medal match, World No. 62 Di Pasquale and World No. 36 Federer were in very different states of mind. The Frenchman was in stellar form. In the round of 16, he defeated world number 4 Magnus Norman 7-6, 7-6 before playing flawless tennis to beat world number 12 Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2, 6-1 in the quarter-finals.
Having stopped world number 8 Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-4, 6-4 in the semi-finals, Di Pascale approached this latest match with a positive mindset. Federer, meanwhile, was devastated after losing 6-3, 6-2 to Tommy Haas. The Swiss legend would later reflect on that very match.
“In 2000, I was really sad after losing to Haas at the Sydney Olympics. When I lost, I went into a corner like a child. I couldn’t stop crying. That defeat marked me. The next day I was supposed to play for the bronze medal against Di Pasquale, but I was crying and crying.”
Di Pasquale won the first set 7-6 in the semifinals. In the second set, the Frenchman had a match point saved by Federer, who eventually forced a decider after taking the second 7-6.
In the final set, although Di Pasquale called in a physio due to a sore thigh, Federer was overwhelmed by the pressure of the occasion. He was seen tossing and hitting his racquet several times, and he was never able to gain any positive momentum. In the end, Di Pasquale prevailed 6-3 for the unexpected bronze medal.
What next?? Di Pasquale has been hampered by injuries as Federer embarks on a GOAT journey
Di Pasquale’s career will be hampered by repeated injuries. He would reach the fourth round once again in Paris in 2002, but his body prevented him from maximizing his potential. He would eventually retire from the game in 2007.
For Federer, iIt would take him almost three years before he could master his nerves. In 2003, she claimed the first of her 20 Grand Slam titles Wimbledondefeating Mark Philippousis in the final. And in 2004, he would begin the longest unbroken reign in tennis history, atop the ATP rankings for 237 weeks. Although he would win a gold medal in doubles (with partner Stan Wawrinka) at the 2008 Beijing Games, his best singles effort would remain the silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
