Federer beats Raonic for Stuttgart title

Roger Federer defeated Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (3) to mark his return from three months off with the Stuttgart Open title on Sunday.

The Swiss star, who is assured of reclaiming the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal today, broke at 1-1 in the opening set and held his nerve in the second, where Raonic double-faulted.

Federer skipped the entire clay-court season for the second year in a row, but he wrapped up his 18th grasscourt 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, who extended his grass-court winning streak to 16 matches, including his titles at Halle and Wimbledon last year. The 36-year-old will need to defend his title at Halle to maintain his No. 1 spot ahead of Wimbledon.

■ Johanna Konta failed to shake the umpire’s hand after a bad-tempered end to the Nottingham (England) Open final, with Ashleigh Barty winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

After the first two sets were shared, Konta recovered from 4-1 down in the decider to level at 4-4 but got angry with umpire Paula Vieira Souza for not overruling a Barty shot that looked long as the top-seeded Australian held for 5-4. Neither the line judge nor Souza called it out.

“It’s an absolute joke,” fourth-seeded Konta told Souza. The British No. 1 won only one more point as Barty clinched victory with a backhand pass. Konta then walked straight past Souza and off the court.