Federer fails to defend title
Switzerland's top tennis player, Roger Federer, has failed to reclaim the Milan Indoor title after being beaten by Italian Davide Sanguinetti.
The unseeded Sanguinetti pulled off a surprise three set victory over defending champion, Federer. He delighted the home crowd with a 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 win over the second-seeded Swiss.
Federer started the match off well, leading the first set 4-1 before his opponent hit back to take the set into a tie-break which he won convincingly.
The 20-year-old from Basel again had a 4-1 advantage in the second set but this time was able to hold on, despite some loose shots, to force the match into a decisive third set.
It was then that the Italian took full advantage of Federer’s erratic play and unforced errors, storming to a 6-1 victory.
Although disappointed, Federer, who won his first career title here last season, was full of praise for his opponent who on Saturday had beaten top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero to book his place in the final.
“It has been an unbelievable week for Davide. He beat the number one and number two seeds so he really deserved the title,” said Federer.
“For me it has been a good week and a good season so far but obviously I am disappointed not to have defended my title – that would have been something special.”
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