Federer acknowledges the cheers from the Stockholm crowd
Keystone
Roger Federer of Switzerland beat Germany's Florian Mayer 6-4 6-3 to win the Stockholm Open tennis tournament on Sunday and equal Pete Sampras' haul of 64 ATP titles.
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“It’s fantastic to come here, face the pressure and be able to come through at the end,” the world number two told Swedish television.
“It was a really difficult final and you can see I’m still breathing hard. I thought Mayer played a terrific final so I’m very happy.”
Mayer, without a title to his name, had a mountain to climb but came out strongly, attacking at every opportunity and displaying a fine touch around the net.
He broke serve in the first set, only for Federer to break back immediately.
The Swiss then held his own serve to love before breaking again to take the set.
Mayer wrong-footed Federer with some classy shots but a service break in the sixth game of the second set put the 16-times grand slam winner in the driving seat.
“It’s been a tough week. I came from Shanghai where I played five matches, then the jet lag and the whole thing, so to back it up with another win is great,” said Federer after picking up the trophy from Crown Princess Victoria.
Despite equalling Sampras’ tally, Federer still lies behind three other players: John McEnroe (77), Ivan Lendl (94) and Jimmy Connors, who won 107 ATP singles titles.
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.