Roger Federer celebrates no 1 rank with 98th title

Roger Federer celebrated returning to the top of the world rankings by defeating Milos Raonic in the final of the Stuttgart Open on Sunday and lifting the 98th tour-level title of his garlanded career.

The 36-year-old, who by reaching the final had already guaranteed his return to world No 1, supplanting Rafael Nadal when the new rankings are released on Monday, continued his domination over the Canadian with a 6-4 7-6(3) victory.

Federer’s 78-minute win, sealing his first Stuttgart triumph, was the perfect tonic for the Swiss in the build-up to defending his Wimbledon crown, having extended his unbeaten 12-month sequence in grass court matches to 16.


Federer, who beat Raonic en route to winning Wimbledon last year, broke the Canadian’s powerful serve just once in the third game but with his own delivery proving unbreachable, it was enough for him to win the first set.

In a decisive tiebreak after no breaks in the second set, a double fault from Raonic paved the way for Federer, playing his first tournament in 11 weeks after giving the claycourt campaign a miss, to claim victory. “I’m just very happy how I played this week,” the 20-time Grand Slam champion said. “I never felt bad on the court, to be honest.”

“That’s a very encouraging feeling. In the last couple of days I’ve not dropped serve.

On Monday, Federer will begin a record-extending 310th week at the top of the rankings before seeking to defend his Halle grasscourt crown and then go on to Wimbledon.

MURRAY RETURN, NOVAK WOES
Andy Murray will make his long awaited return from hip surgery at Queen’s Club next week, while his old rival Novak Djokovic arrives at the Wimbledon warm-up hoping to end his wretched run.

Murray has not played a competitive match since he was knocked out of the Wimbledon quarterfinals last July as a hip injury brought a painful end to his season.

The former world number one underwent surgery in January after pulling out of the 2017 US Open and this year’s Australian Open.

Murray made a tentative commitment to appear in the grass-court tournament in Rosmalen this week, before again pulling out at the last minute to spark fresh fears that he wouldn’t make it back in time for Wimbledon.

But the two-time Wimbledon champion has been practising regularly for the past fortnight. “I’ve been practising the last couple of weeks and obviously building up each day. I started playing sets about a week ago,” Murray said on Saturday. “I got tested by my physios this morning to make sure I hadn’t stiffened up and lost any range of motion in my hip which can happen when you’re tired and the hip’s a bit angry.”

Like Murray, Djokovic has endured a frustrating period. He is a lowly 21st in the rankings after an embarrassing French Open quarterfinal defeat against Italian journeyman Marco Cecchinato.

The struggling Serb hasn’t earned a major title since competing his career Grand Slam by winning the 2016 French Open. Djokovic has failed to reach the semi-finals in any of his last five Grand Slam appearances.

He traditionally opts against playing a pre-Wimbledon event. But, dogged by rumours that he no longer has the motivation to return to the top, he has decided to start his bid for a fourth Wimbledon crown earlier than usual by accepting a Queen’s wild card.

“Grass is very special, it is the rarest of surfaces so I’m happy I’ll have the opportunity to compete at this strong tournament, which will also be a great preparation for Wimbledon,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic, who plays a qualifier in the first round, is one of 14 of the world’s top 30 in the draw.