Roger Federer advanced into his first Masters 1000 final in Miami 2002, facing the defending champion Andre Agassi. The American toppled the young Swiss Roger Federer 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in two hours and 21 minutes, lifting his fifth Miami Open title and giving the crowd something to cheer about.
Seeded 9th and 12th, Andre and Roger showed the most during those two weeks in sunny Florida. Agassi lost a set against former champion Marcelo Rios in the semi-final before the Chilean retired after the second set. It was the eighth ATP final for the upcoming youngster, the second on outdoor courts.
Roger scored his first win over the no. 1 player in the semi-final after dismissing Lleyton Hewitt, hoping for more against Andre! Federer constantly improved his game and found his best tennis in Miami after just four wins in Rotterdam, Dubai and Indian Wells.
He pushed Agassi to the limits and claimed only one point less than the more experienced rival. As was expected, an explosive teenager had almost twice as many winners as Andre and more unforced and forced errors. Roger did his best to control the rallies’ pace and match the rival’s numbers in the longer baseline rallies, still falling short in the end.
Interestingly, Agassi had the upper hand in the fastest exchanges. It gave…
