Federer Wins Eighth Basel Title
Roger Federer has beaten Juan Martin del Potro, and, in doing so, has won his eighth Basel title! Federer has won seven titles this year, including Wimbledon and the Australian Open, and, with this win against del Potro in the Swiss Indoors, his departure from the Paris Masters has shocked many fans.
Federer’s win, 6 – 7 (5 – 7) 6 – 4 6 – 3, managed to move him within 1 460 points of Rafael Nadal, the Spanish World Number One, before the final event for the regular season. But the 36-year old Federer will not be playing in Paris, and this nixes his chance of ending 2017 at the top of the tennis world rankings.
Even del Potro is Impressed
A win for del Potro would have allowed him to move into the last qualifying place for London’s ATP Finals. Having won last week in Stockholm, the world-ranked Number 19 was aiming to clinch back-to-back titles in Basel, but has remained one space behind Pablo Carreno Busta, from Spain. Del Potro will need to reach at least the Paris semi-finals if he wishes to claim the final spot, and punters who enjoy the best tennis bets are on the edge of their seats!
Del Potro gushed about how excellently Federer was playing, and said that he could only hope to be in that fine a form when he reached Federer’s age, adding that this was very unlikely.
A Comfortable Victory in Vienna
Lucas Pouille, from France, managed to secure a very comfortable victory over his compatriot Jo Wilfried-Tsonga, and claimed his third title for this season. Wilfried-Tsonga, also a serious contender for the London Finals, now stands at just 295 points behind Busta, and the two remaining places are set to be decided in the games taking place in Paris.
Federer’s Frustration Became Evident
Del Potro and Federer have faced off four times this year, and the former managed to win their last game, the US Open Quarter-Final which took place last month. His win left many people pondering the merits of betting on the underdog!
In a close opening set, Federer had the opportunity to take it on serve, but Del Potro broke, leaving the Swiss player with a five-point loss, in a row, and surrendering the tie-break.
Federer came to breaking point in the fourth game of the second set, most obviously losing his cool when he did not manage to grab the chance to make his mark on the match at this point.
Federer, an extraordinary athlete with 19 Grand Slam wins behind him, did however manage to carve out a breakpoint. At this point he assumed control of the rally at 30 – 40, but then sent a simple backhand volley wide!
This was the event that caused Federer’s frustrations to boil over, and he smashed his racket into the net in a manner John McEnroe would’ve been proud of! He did, however, manage to regain his composure enough to break in the last game of the set, and went on to wrap up the victory with an additional two breaks in the third.
Federer now holds a total of 95 career totals, edging ever closer to the all-time champ Jimmy Connors’ 109.
