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CNN Sunday Morning

Interview With Richard Pagliaro

Aired July 06, 2003 - 11:29   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: There is a winner at Wimbledon. Men's final in south London, 21-year-old Roger Federer of Switzerland. He is the first Swiss player to reach a men's Grand Slam final, and now, the winner of.
Joining us is Richard Pagliaro, he is the Web editor for Tennisweek.com.

And it was a quite exciting battle, wasn't it?

RICHARD PAGLIARO, WEB EDITOR, TENNISWEEK.COM: Yes, absolutely, Fredricka. Federer is a guy that so many people that have followed tennis for so long thought that this guy was capable of winning a slam. He's always had the talent. He finally put it together, just outstanding performance from him the entire tournament. He hasn't lost a grass court match this year.

WHITFIELD: Well, in the third set, for a second, it looked like Mark Philippoussis just might be able to turn the tide. But it just didn't work. He slipped a bit.

PAGLIARO: Yes, he did. And I think Philippoussis can walk off the court hanging his head high. Here's a guy who came in to Wimbledon unseeded. You know, he had three knee surgeries. Doctors told him his career was probably over. His dad had battled cancer. He's had so much to deal with in life off the court, just to get to the finals is an incredible effort from Philippoussis.

WHITFIELD: All right. So it was the men's day, yesterday was the women's day, with yet another Williams taking the Wimbledon. This time Serena for the second year in a row. It really was pretty heartbreaking to see at the end Venus looked like this was one she really wanted to win.

PAGLIARO: Yes, she really did. And I think that stomach, the abdominal strain she had, you can just see she had no ability to elevate into her serve or get off the ground, and it really limited her. I'm not sure she would have played if it would have just been another tournament, another match. She went out, she tried to play, she competed as well as she could.

But I just think Serena Williams is number one in the world for a reason, she is the best player clearly head and shoulders above anybody else. There is no rival for her. She is basically playing against herself right now, because there's nobody out there that can really challenge her. WHITFIELD: All right, once again, the queen of Wimbledon, Serena Williams, and now the king of Wimbledon this year, Roger Federer. All right, thanks very much, Richard Pagliaro, good to see you.

PAGLIARO: Good to see you, Fredricka. Thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired July 6, 2003 - 11:29   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: There is a winner at Wimbledon. Men's final in south London, 21-year-old Roger Federer of Switzerland. He is the first Swiss player to reach a men's Grand Slam final, and now, the winner of.
Joining us is Richard Pagliaro, he is the Web editor for Tennisweek.com.

And it was a quite exciting battle, wasn't it?

RICHARD PAGLIARO, WEB EDITOR, TENNISWEEK.COM: Yes, absolutely, Fredricka. Federer is a guy that so many people that have followed tennis for so long thought that this guy was capable of winning a slam. He's always had the talent. He finally put it together, just outstanding performance from him the entire tournament. He hasn't lost a grass court match this year.

WHITFIELD: Well, in the third set, for a second, it looked like Mark Philippoussis just might be able to turn the tide. But it just didn't work. He slipped a bit.

PAGLIARO: Yes, he did. And I think Philippoussis can walk off the court hanging his head high. Here's a guy who came in to Wimbledon unseeded. You know, he had three knee surgeries. Doctors told him his career was probably over. His dad had battled cancer. He's had so much to deal with in life off the court, just to get to the finals is an incredible effort from Philippoussis.

WHITFIELD: All right. So it was the men's day, yesterday was the women's day, with yet another Williams taking the Wimbledon. This time Serena for the second year in a row. It really was pretty heartbreaking to see at the end Venus looked like this was one she really wanted to win.

PAGLIARO: Yes, she really did. And I think that stomach, the abdominal strain she had, you can just see she had no ability to elevate into her serve or get off the ground, and it really limited her. I'm not sure she would have played if it would have just been another tournament, another match. She went out, she tried to play, she competed as well as she could.

But I just think Serena Williams is number one in the world for a reason, she is the best player clearly head and shoulders above anybody else. There is no rival for her. She is basically playing against herself right now, because there's nobody out there that can really challenge her. WHITFIELD: All right, once again, the queen of Wimbledon, Serena Williams, and now the king of Wimbledon this year, Roger Federer. All right, thanks very much, Richard Pagliaro, good to see you.

PAGLIARO: Good to see you, Fredricka. Thanks.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com