Roger Federer- “The Ultimate Tennis Legend”
Roger Federer celebrated his return to the top of the world rankings by winning the Rotterdam Open on Sunday for his 97th career title. The 36-year-old, the oldest No. 1 in the sport, thrashed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2 in a one-sided final. In the Open era, only American Jimmy Connors has won more titles, with 109.
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Federer, 36, who guaranteed to become the oldest- ever ATP world No. 1 by reaching the semi-final, had won all six of his previous meetings with Dimitrov and was in command throughout Sunday ‘ s 55- minute final.
He broke the Bulgarian opponent early in the contest and cruised to a one- set lead at the Ahoy Rotterdam.
“What a fantastic week,” the top seed said. “The goal at the start of the week was to make it to the semifinals. This is absolutely amazing, I’m really pleased.”
Federer, the record 20-time Grand Slam winner, will reclaim the No. 1 ranking he last held in October 2012 when the new ATP rankings are published on Monday.
Playing flawless tennis, the 20- time major winner carried the momentum forward in the second set to seal a 97th career title and third in Rotterdam having won in 2005 and 2012.
The iconic Swiss star needed just 55 minutes to dispatch Dimitrov, who looked to be under-cooked in the quickfire final. Two breaks per set were enough for Federer to advance seal the trophy.
The Swiss also improved his head- to- head record against world No. 5 Dimitrov to 7-0.
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Federer’s Reaction:
” It ‘ s definitely one of those weeks I will never forget in my life, ” Federer said. ” It ‘ s unbelievable to get my 97th title and get back to world No. 1. It ‘ s very special. ” Federer said he had expected a tougher afternoon against Dimitrov who will rise from five to four in the rankings.
” Grigor is a great player and a great athlete and he ‘ s been playing super well in recent months, ” he said.
” I thought that this wasn’t going to be the result, but he looked to be struggling a bit and I never looked back. I was able to execute my tennis the way I wanted to. I’m very happy. ”
