Points won by each set: [ 20-30, 35-29, 31-20 ]
Points won directly on serve:
18 % Federer – 16 of 88
15 % Gasquet – 12 of 77
Federer [1] was virtually unbeatable at the time on hardcourts, but a one-sided loss hung above him as he found himself at 0/40 on serve in the 1st game of the 2nd set after having no chance in the opener. He managed to win three straight ‘deuce’ games then. “I just always do believe that I can turn any match around; that’s what happened today,” Federer said. “I know that once I turn it around, once I would take the lead, then it would be very difficult for my opponent. That’s what I always tell myself. Maybe it’s an illusion sometimes, but it definitely works.” For the 20-year-old Gasquet [51] it was the second Masters 1K final (the first vs Federer too), people could think that many more would come, but it didn’t happen – he added just one more, six years later in the same place. No-one knew then how good would be Murray and Djokovic – the players one year younger than the Frenchman.
Federer’s route to his 40th title:
1 Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-3, 6-4
2 Sebastien Grosjean 6-3, 6-3
3 Dmitry Tursunov 6-3, 5-7, 6-0
Q Xavier Malisse 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-3
S Fernando Gonzalez 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
W Richard Gasquet 2-6, 6-3, 6-2