Federer happy to finally win Stuttgart Open

ROGER FEDERER celebrated returning to the top of the world rankings by defeating Milos Raonic in the final of the Stuttgart Open yesterday 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(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.

“It’s a great comeback for me,” said Federer, who was playing his first tournament after an 11-week break, having sidestepped the entire clay-court season.

“I’m really happy. I thought it was a good final from my side. I think I played very well throughout the tournament, actually, having not played for a while.

“Maybe I was a little bit better on the bigger points. Of course I’m so happy to have won here, finally, in Stuttgart.”

Federer, who beat Raonic en route to winning Wimbledon last year, broke his opponent’s powerful serve just once in the third game – but that was a major feat in itself as the Canadian had entered the final having won all 41 of his service games.

With his own delivery proving unbreachable – he dropped serve only twice all week – it was enough for Federer to claim the first set.

In a decisive tiebreak after no breaks in the second set, a double fault from Raonic at 3-4 paved the way for Federer to claim the 18th grass-court trophy of his career. – Reuters