Roger Federer won the final at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament in Rotterdam against Grigor Dimitrov. Up to the magic mark of 100 career titles it is not far for the new world number one.
PeRFektes end of a historic tournament week! Roger Federer has won the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam for the third time since 2005 and 2012. In the final of the indoor hard court tournament the “Maestro” won 6:2,6:2 against the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
Federer had already achieved historic success with his entry into the semi-finals: at 36 years of age and 195 days, the eternal Swiss returns to the top of the world rankings on Monday as the oldest number one in history.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner with an impeccable 6-0 record went into his seventh match with Dimitrov. The reigning ATP world champion had only had to work short hours in the semi-final against David Goffin: After Dimitrov had won the first set, the Belgian was unhappily distracted by a ball and could no longer play.
In the final, the tennis-aesthetes did not stay long with the preliminary skirmish. Dimitrov was the more aggressive player at the beginning, but that didn’t help his error rate. A devious 26-year-old 26-year-old backhanded longline brought Federer the break to 3-2. The gifted “Front Runner” could not be stopped afterwards. After the double-break, Federer bagged the first set with a sovereign service play.
In the second act, the Bulgarian no longer had much to oppose. Plagued by pain in the ankle joint, pulled up by an unfortunate flight ball movement, Dimitrov had to give up his service immediately.
Chair referee Damien Dumusois inquired about the fullness of the world’s designated fourth place on the world rankings:”I won’t give up,”he answered slightly annoyed – and a little later, he won the double-break again.
Unimpressed by his opponent’s problems, Federer moved up and away. After just 55 minutes, the one-sided final was over – and the 97th place was over. Career-title under control.