Federer beats Raonic in grass tournament

Canadian Milos Raonic was looking at the bigger picutre after a loss to Roger Federer Sunday morning in the Stutttgart Open final.

Raonic, who sat out some clay-court tournaments, including the French Open, with an undisclosed injury last month, fell 6-4, 7-6 (3) to Federer in Sunday’s title match on grass.

“It was a good week for me with a lot of positives. I’m happy to be back and healthy,” Raonic tweeted after the match. “Today didn’t go the way I wanted, but I’m looking forward to building on this result. Congratulations ↕rogerfederer and thank you Stuttgart.”

Federer, also marking his return from three months off, is assured of reclaiming the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal on Monday.

He broke at 1-1 in the opening set and held his nerve in the second, where Raonic doublefaulted.

“I had some chances today but couldn’t convert them,” Raonic said.

Federer skipped the entire clay-court season for the second year in a row, but he wrapped up his 18th grass-court title in 1 hour and 18 minutes - his 98th title overall and third of the season after victories at the Australian Open and World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.

“It’s a wonderful feeling. I fought hard. When you finally manage it, the joy is even greater,” said Federer.