Indian Wells, California: Hitting a home run out of Shea Stadium was a defining moment for American Mardy Fish but even that fell way short of his stunning victory over Roger Federer at the Pacific Life Open on Saturday.
The 26-year-old produced the biggest win of his career by outplaying the Swiss world number one 6-3, 6-2 in a semi-final lasting just over an hour at Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
"That was pretty cool," Fish told reporters of the 370-foot home run he struck over the right field wall in batting practice at Shea Stadium, home of baseball's New York Mets, during the 2004 US Open.
"I'm a huge sports fan, period and Shea Stadium is a pretty cool place but it doesn't compare too much today. I would trade that home run for another win against anyone, really."
Fish, who had lost to Federer in five previous meetings, became the first American to beat the Swiss in 42 matches.
It followed his victories this week over world number seven David Nalbandian of Argentina and fourth-ranked Russian Nikolay Davydenko.
"Putting together these wins gives me a heck of a lot of confidence, and hopefully I have one more to go," said Fish, who faces third-seeded Serb Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final.
"I've always thought I've had the capability of getting into the top 10 and that's always been the goal," added the American, a former top-20 player who is now ranked 98th.
Being Hunter
"I've liked being hunter for almost my whole career and I felt like I was always capable of beating everybody, but it was always here and there, it was always sporadically."
Fish, whose only two ATP titles came on the indoor surface of Stockholm in 2003 and the clay of Houston in 2006, derided the suggestion that Federer was losing his aura of dominance.
"In the locker room, we just kind of laugh at it," he said. "We just kind of think it's kind of a joke. "You know: 'Oh my gosh, Roger hasn't won a tournament yet this year.' Yet he's only played two tournaments and reaching the semi-finals while he had mono (glandular fever) is pretty good."
Federer, who has spent a record 215 consecutive weeks at the top of the men's rankings, lost to Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals in January before being beaten in the first round in Dubai by Briton Andy Murray.
"Everybody's real good and if you're not on top of your game, somewhere down the road guys are going to get you," Fish added.
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