Despite some sloppy play at key moments, Roger Federer overcame Juan Martin del Potro to win his hometown Swiss Indoors title for the eighth time on Sunday.
No. 1 Federer topped No. 4 del Potro, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3, to win his seventh title of 2017, the most of any player on the ATP Tour.
In those seven finals, he has beaten arch-rival Rafael Nadal three times and del Potro, Stan Wawrinka, Alexander Zverev and Marin Cilic once apiece. Federer hasn’t had to play former world No. 1s Novak Djokovic or Andy Murray in any final this year as both have missed a lot of time with injuries.
“Congratulations to Juan Martin on a wonderful tournament yourself,” Federer told del Potro, who is healthy again after being sidelined for several years with wrist injuries. “You’ve been on a great run since the US Open and before. So I’m very happy to see you playing so well again and playing every week. That’s something I would like to be able do again. It’s going to be difficult for me, but congratulations.”
Federer has now won the Halle (Germany) title nine times, and Wimbledon and Basel eight times. “Congratulations, Roger, you have been playing great tennis this year,” del Potro said on court. “You are in fantastic shape, it’s unbelievable. I would love to be at your age in the same form, but I don’t think so.” With the win, Federer moved past Djokovic – who is currently out of action due to an elbow injury – as the player to have won the most prize money in his career. Fededer also closed the gap at the top of the ATP rankings and moved within 1,060 points of Nadal. But Federer then opted to withdraw form the Paris Masters, essentially handing the No. 1 ranking to Nadal.Hometown glory for the eighth time ?@rogerfederer defeats Juan Martin del Potro 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3 to win title No.8 in Basel!#SwissIndoors pic.twitter.com/K7K7eq11bQ
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 29, 2017
It was also the 95th career title for Federer, moving him past Ivan Lendl for second all-time behind Jimmy Connors (109.) Federer won despite blowing several key leads. He served for the first set at 5-4, only to be broken. He then led 3-0 in the tiebreak before del Potro took command and won it. In the third set, Federer was broken in the initial game after gaining some momentum by winning the second set. But he quickly broke back and then broke del Potro again for a 3-1 lead. The victory comes two weeks after Federer defeated Nadal in the Shanghai Rolex Masters final for his fourth victory over Nadal in 2017. Federer, 36, began the year by overcoming a 1-3 deficit against Nadal, 31, in the fifth set of the Australian Open to win his 18th career Grand Slam title. Federer then dominated Nadal in straight sets in the Round of 16 in Indian Wells and in the final in Miami. By the time they met in Shanghai, the two legends had split all four of the year’s Grand Slam titles, with Federer winning his 18th and 19th at the Australian and then Wimbledon, and Nadal winning his 15th and 16th at the French Open and then the US Open. The two could have met in the semifinals in New York, but Federer fell to del Potro in the quarterfinals, preventing the first Federer-Nadal matchup in New York, where Nadal bested South African Kevin Anderson in the final. With Sunday’s win, Federer improved to 18-6 against del Potro and evened things at two apiece in Basel. Photo: Jose MorgadoOnly once in the last 10 matches has Federer-del Potro ended in straight sets &…Fed takes 2nd
Watch the third ? https://t.co/kRsZ9uv0ca pic.twitter.com/OJdE4KCHPo — Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 29, 2017
