Federer on brink of surpassing Agassi record
rotterdam — Roger Federer is within touching distance of becoming the oldest male to reach the top of the world rankings after marching into the quarterfinals of the ABN AMRO tournament.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion went through after making it 13 wins in as many matches against Philipp Kohlschreiber with a 7-6 (10-8), 7-5 triumph against his German opponent on Thursday.
One more victory at the indoor tournament in Rotterdam will ensure the 36-year-old Federer leapfrogs his old rival Rafael Nadal at the top of the world rankings. He would also then become the oldest No. 1 male player, surpassing Andre Agassi, who holds the record at 33 years and 133 days.
“This is an exciting challenge, I’ve struggled to try and get there. I had to win a lot of matches last year,” said Federer who was as low as 17 in the world in January last year before he returned to form with the Australian Open title.
“I never imagined this after my (February 2016) knee surgery. Number one is a tough place to get to. “The most important thing is to be healthy, I would have had great regrets if I had not come here this week. I’m very excited for tomorrow’s match, I can’t wait for it to come around.”
“Tonight was complicated, I had to fight and struggle,” said Federer who has won three of the last five majors. “I had a good game plan going in, but I was never able to completely pull it off.
“He came out with a clean start. I was serving well, that’s a great sign. I’d rather do that and return poorly.”
Thursday’s win was Federer’s 13th in as many meetings against Kohlschreiber. Second seed Grigor Dimitrov outlasted Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 to also reach the quarterfinals.
Dimitrov has now reached a second straight quarterfinal in the Dutch city, advancing with 13 aces and saving all four break points he faced.
The Bulgarian will face Andrey Rublev on Friday after the 20-yearold Russian struggled for nearly two hours before finally seeing off Damir Dzumhur 6-4, 7-6 (7/4).
Rublev, the world number 34, forced his Bosnian opponent to save 10 of 15 break points while he saved nine of 13.