BASEL, October 29, 2017
Roger Federer came from a set down to earn his eighth Swiss Indoors trophy in his 13th appearance in the final. The top seed in Basel fought past Juan Martin del Potro 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday.
Federer struck seven aces, winning 74 per cent of his first service points. He capitalized on five of his 15 break points to prevail after two hours and 31 minutes.
The Swiss moved into first on the ATP World Tour in titles won this season, with seven. The win breaks Federer’s tie with Ivan Lendl for titles won during the Open Era. Federer now owns 95, second only behind Jimmy Connors, who has 109.
It’s a 95th (!) title for Federer…so inching closer to 💯 pic.twitter.com/6kwlGtP64Z
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 29. Oktober 2017
“We really gave it all we had. I think we’re both tired from a long season. Plus he’s been playing four straight weeks now, very successful, so we tried to give it all we had. The crowd really enjoyed themselves and at the end there is always going to be a winner unfortunately in tennis. But I think we both can be very happy with the week today,” Federer said.
“It was an emotional match. But a good one, I think, for the fans.”
Later in the evening, Federer announced that he pulls out from Paris Bercy Masters.
Despite the loss, del Potro is still within striking distance in the Emirates ATP Race To London, as he seeks a fourth appearance in the Nitto ATP Finals. The Argentine is just 190 points behind Pablo Carreno Busta for the eighth and final spot.
“You’ve been playing great tennis this year. 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,” Del Potro told towards Federer. Del Potro has moved from 47th in the Race before the US Open to 13th.
Dodig/Granollers Push For London With Title
Second-seeded Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers continued their London push by winning their second title of the year. The pair defeated Frenchmen Fabrice Martin and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 7-6. The doubles final lasted one hour and 42 minutes. The Croatian-Spanish duo occupy the final spot in the Race with one week remaining.
“Thanks to my partner for a great week and through all this season we really tried hard and we have one more title together. I’m happy, he was defending champion, so a second time for him, it’s great,” Dodig said.
“I think we played very well and it was a week at a high level. It was the result we were looking for,” Granollers added.
