The much anticipated day of heavyweight semis lived up to all expectations. It started with Federer against Srichaphan, the world number 1 against Thailand's number 1. It was a highly contested first set, with Federer getting the crucial break at 6-5 and then subsequently taking the set 7-5. He seemed to have a lapse in the second, however, as Srichaphan regained control and, aided by his numerous compatriots in the stands, outclassed the world's best by taking the set 6-2. So the match was all tied up at 1 set apiece and it was down to the business end. Everyone knew how much emphasis Srichaphan put on his hometown tournament and how much it would mean to him to reach the final, something he was unable to do last year. However, Federer was also on a mission: to win his 10th title of the year and it seemed no sentimental pressure was going to stop him from achieving that goal. He ended up winning the match 6-3 in the third, thus securing himself a place in the final. After the match, the Swiss star was asked if he felt bad to beat Paradorn in Bangkok, to which he responded "yes, I do actually", adding he hoped Srichaphan wouldn't beat him in his home tournament in Basel in a few weeks' time. So one half of the stage had been set: the number 1 seed had made it to the final, now it was time to see who his opponent would be. Either way, it was guaranteed to be a great final: playing Roddick would be a replay of the 2004 Wimbledon final and facing Safin would be a replay of the 2004 Australian Open final. That, perhaps, gives you an indication of the level of tennis that was on display in Bangkok this week! There was not a spare seat to be seen in the arena as the 2 megastars of men's tennis took to the court. It promised to be a close match and, boy, was it ever! The first set saw no breaks of serve, as missiles of over 200km/h were aced down, much like the thunderbolts that were raging in the storm outside. A tie-break was inevitable and Roddick won it with surprising ease 7 points to 1. Marat's frustration was starting to show and he began throwing raquets, as is his notorious trademark. I, personally, thought the match was over and that Marat had lost his head in one of his "brainfades", but I was proven wrong and the enigmatic Russian kept it together, forcing a second set tie-break and winning it in an awe-inspiring performance 7-0. It could not have been closer; no one had lost their serve so far and the audience had been treated to some amazingly high class tennis. Both players seemed to hold their serves with relative ease and so the trend continued into the final set tie-break. The atmosphere around the court was electric and no one wanted the match to end. However, end it did and the result was in favour of Roddick, who capitalised on Safin's careless mistakes to win the decider 7 points to 2. Although it was not the result I had been hoping for, I could not help but be gobsmacked by the standard of tennis I had just witnessed. It was surely a match worthy of a Grand Slam final and, indeed in the coming years, these 2 players could very well meet in a few of those. But today was Roddick's day and the tournament now had its dream final between the top 2 players in the world.
That was to be the last match I saw at the 2004 Thailand Open, as I could not stay for Sunday's final, instead having to return to Australia. Federer won it in the end 6-4 6-0, as Roddick was seemingly slightly injured. In any case, it had been a fantastic week of tennis for me and a great opportunity to see some of the world's best battling it out. Now it was time to head back home to recover and wait for the next big adventure: the Australian Summer of tennis!!!
