FEDERER MARKS RETURNR TO WORLD NO. 1 WITH STUTTGART WINW

New No. 1 Federer sweeps aside Raonic in Stuttgart

STUTTGART: Roger Federer (pic) celebrated returning to the top of the world rankings by defeating Milos Raonic in the final of the Stuttgart Open and lifting the 98th Tour-level title of his garlanded career.

The 36-year-old, who by reaching the final had already guaranteed his return to world No. 1, supplanting Rafael Nadal when the new rankings are released today, continued his domination over the Canadian with a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory.

Federer’s 78-minute win, sealing his first Stuttgart triumph, was the perfect tonic for the Swiss in the build-up to defending his Wimbledon crown, having extended his unbeaten 12-month sequence in grass court matches to 16.

Federer, who beat Raonic en route to winning Wimbledon last year, broke the Canadian’s powerful serve just once in the third game but with his own delivery proving unbreachable, it was enough for him to win the first set.

In a decisive tiebreak after no breaks in the second set, a double fault from Raonic paved the way for Federer, playing his first tournament in 11 weeks after giving the clay court campaign a miss, to claim victory.

On Monday, Federer will begin a record-extending 310th week at the top of the rankings before seeking to defend his Halle grasscourt crown. If he manages to do so, he will then seek a landmark 100th career title at Wimbledon.

Earlier, Federer came from behind to beat Nick Kyrgios 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) in the semi-finals. Raonic downed defending champion Lucas Pouille 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) in the other semi-finals.

“It was close. It could have gone either way, naturally. But I’m happy I got it and get back to World No. 1, so it’s very exciting. And I’ve got another final, so it’s great news.”

In Hertogenbosch, Richard Gasquet and Jeremy Chardy set up an all-French final at the Libema Open after both saw off Australian challengers in the semi-finals.

Belgium’s Kirsten Flipkens will meet Serbia’s Alexsandra Krunic in the women’s final. Flipkens beat Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova 7-5, 6-7 (7-9), 6-4 in her semi-final with Krunic surprising top seed Coco Vandeweghe 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-1).

In Nottingham, home favourite Johanna Konta kept her nerve through an hour’s rain delay to defeat defending champion Donna Vekic and reach her second successive Nottingham Open final. — Reuters