MASTERS CUP Federer caps outstanding year with season-ending rout of Agassi

The Wimbledon champion moved up to No. 2 in the rankings.
HOUSTON (AP) -- Consider this a warning, Andy Roddick and other top tennis players: Roger Federer and his coach figure the Wimbledon champion can get better.
It sure doesn't seem as if there's a whole lot of room for improvement.
Federer capped a fantastic tournament and year with a truly spectacular performance, dominating Andre Agassi 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 Sunday to win the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup for his tour-high seventh title of 2003.
Even Agassi was moved to call Federer's play "an inspiration" and "as good as it gets."
"He's very explosive. He has great hands. Great hand speed, great feel. Great movement. An all-court game," Agassi said. "He can play from the back and beat the best, and he can play serve-and-volley and take certain kinds of players out of the equation just by coming forward."
What else is there?
Strong showing
Federer displayed all of that and more during a week in which he earned $1,520,000 and moved up to No. 2 in the rankings, behind Roddick. Federer went 5-0 and won 11 of 12 sets against an elite field, with wins against the other reigning major champions: Agassi (Australian Open), Roddick (U.S. Open) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (French Open).
"I really overachieved," Federer said. "I've worked very hard this year, and it really paid off."
He's only 22, a year older than Roddick, and theirs could become a classic rivalry -- trading Grand Slam titles, dueling for the top of the rankings -- along the lines of John McEnroe vs. Bjorn Borg, or Pete Sampras vs. Agassi.
Roddick has the fastest serve in tennis and one of the best forehands around. Federer's superb serve relies more on placement than pace, and he just doesn't appear to have any holes in his game.
Roddick finished the season at No. 1, but Federer won one more title and six more matches, a tour-leading 78. Federer also owned a 5-1 head-to-head edge against Roddick.
"Andy deserves his No. 1 spot. He should walk away from here and feel the best. I would feel the same way if I were No. 1," Federer said. "Maybe I feel the best this week, because I really have played unbelievable tennis."
Federer's versatility is impressive. He won tournaments on clay, grass, hard courts and indoors, and his only really disappointing showing was a first-round exit at the French Open -- where Roddick also lost his first match.
Federer "has a good chance, if plays well at the beginning of the year, to get to No. 1," said his coach, Peter Lundgren. "He can still be stronger. He can work on his serve. His volley can get better. If you look at his whole game, he can improve."