http://www.rolandgarros.com/en/news/articles/200205282014094a4c111bfb9
840af80256bc700692b84.html
Federer crashes out in first round
Georges Homsi
Tuesday, May 28, 2002

Eighth seeded Roger Federer crashed out of Roland
Garros in the opening round on
Tuesday, victim of a resurrected Hicham Arazi, and
some very heavy playing conditions.

Federer is one of the unexpected casualties to
come out of a tournament that has been
plagued with persistent rain during the first two
days of the tournament.

"First of all I think that Hicham played very well
today," said Federer. "I also think that the
weather conditions did not help me. On the other
hand, I still feel tired from my week in
Hamburg. Although a week went by, I feel that I
still have not totally recovered.

A quarterfinalist here last year, Federer had
never played better clay-court tennis than this
spring. After his impressive success on the clay
courts of Hamburg 10 days ago, the tall
Swiss had emerged as one of this tournament's
favorites.

Assisted by a bigger racket that he had been using
for a few weeks, he was now mastering
the secrets of a surface that for a long time gave
him more nightmares than sweet
sensations.

But it was no gift from fate that he was facing
for his first Parisian match, the Moroccan
magician Hicham Arazi. Although Arazi has been
lacking confidence lately, partly due to
his separation with his coach Thierry Champion, he
is never more inspired than early in
the tournament against one of the top seeds.

"I didn't know what to expect from Hicham. He has
not been playing very well lately," said
the Swiss. "I thought it was going to be a good
thing for me, but that was not the case."

On court No2, it was quickly apparent that the
champion from Basel was having trouble
imposing his game. The service break he secured in
the opening game was due to a slow
start from Arazi, rather than great shots on his
part. Immediately after that, Arazi broke back
and from then on begun to take control.

Visibly destabilised by the fact that his powerful
groundstrokes didn't have the awaited
effect, Federer was also contending with a very
inspired Arazi on the other side of the net.
After 28 minutes of play, Arazi (helped by 20
unforced errors from the Swiss), was already
leading 6-3. And he had no intention of releasing
any of his pressure.

Arazi stepped up the pace, varied his game and
surprised Federer with some sneaky trips
to the net. The Moroccan broke in the opening game
of the second set.

Frustrated by the fact that most of his attacks
were regularly coming back to him, Federer
started forcing his shots even more, committing a
bundle of mistakes. Arazi broke again in
the fifth game, and was soon leading by two sets
to love.

The drizzly rain that had continually interrupted
the match became heavier but the chair
umpire refused to stop the match.

In the third set, the Moroccan broke for a 3-2
lead to all but seal the Swiss' fate after a long
and intense game. But Federer refused to give up,
playing a solid game to break back in
the next game. The illusion, however, was not to
last.

Arazi offered himself another break in the seventh
game, as the umpired called for the
match to be interrupted. When it resumed half an
hour later, Arazi closed out the match,
putting paid to Federer's six-match winning
streak, and with that, his hopes of a Grand
Slam singles title.

"Yes I'm disappointed but it's normal. It's always
disappointing to lose in a Grand Slam. It
is sad to leave the tournament so early but that's
the way it is."

In addition to a place in the second round, the
pint-sized Moroccan now has a small
psychological advantage over Federer, who he is
set to face in a Davis Cup tie in
Switzerland this September.

Roger Federer Bio
Hicham Arazi Bio