Federer remains king of the court in Basel
World tennis number one Roger Federer of Switzerland won his second successive Swiss Indoors title in Basel on Sunday, defeating Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-3, 6-4.
However, another Swiss, Patty Schnyder, was defeated in the Austrian city of Linz in her second final appearance of the year. Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia beat Schnyder 6-4, 6-2.
Federer, who now has 52 tournament wins, will finish the season as world number one for the fourth consecutive year.
The Basel victory was the eighth time that Federer has beaten the left-handed Nieminen.
Federer, who had failed to win his home tournament for six years in a row, captured his seventh title of the season.
“Fantastic week”
“It’s been a fantastic week, having the support of my home crowd behind me all the way,” said Federer after a standing ovation.
“Securing the number one ranking for the year and doing it here is particularly special.”
Federer broke on a forehand error by the unseeded Nieminen to lead 2-0, and took the first set with a volley in 27 minutes.
Nieminen, playing his first final of the year, missed a break point to lead the second set 2-0. He won two straight service games to love and had Federer under pressure in the eighth game.
But Nieminen served a double-fault in the next game to face a break point, and then put a forehand wide to give Federer a decisive 5-4 lead.
When Nieminen’s return went long, Federer held a match point and finished with a backhand volley winner.
After losing the Madrid Masters final to David Nalbandian of Argentina last week, Federer dropped a set in his opening match in Basel before winning the next four in straight sets.
Defeat
In the final of the Linz Ladies tournament, Schnyder went up 4-2 in the opening set before losing five games in a row, giving the second-seeded Slovak Hantuchova a lead in the second.
The sixth-seeded Schnyder lost serve again at 2-1 and then missed two chances to break back.
Hantuchova, who got a warning from the umpire for slow play during the second set, finished off the match on her second match point on Schnyder’s serve.
swissinfo with agencies
Roger Federer has led the world rankings of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) since February 2004.
In 2007 he won seven titles, including three Grand Slams – Australia, United States and Wimbledon.
The ATP named Federer “Player of the Year” for the third year in a row.
He was Swiss sportsman of the year in 2003, 2004 and 2006.
Federer has been an ambassador for the children’s aid organisation Unicef since April 2006.
Date of birth: August 8, 1981
Height: 185cm
Weight: 80kg
Plays: Right-handed, single-handed backhand
Turned professional: 1998
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