Federer Stays Sharp

It appears that world #2 Roger Federer is focused on staying sharp as the year end Masters Cup approaches...there is no question that he would love to salvage one victory over Nadal before the season is over.  "Rocket Roger" stepped it up with another ATP tournament win infront of his local fans of Basel.  It's interesting to think that David Nalbandian used to "own" Federer during their years in the ITF juniors.  That goes to show that Junior tennis is important, but not the end all be all when determining who will shine in the pros.

FINAL REVIEW – FEDERER WINS THIRD SUCCESSIVE BASEL TROPHY & 57^TH CAREER TITLE

• Top-seeded Swiss Roger Federer captured his third successive title at the Davidoff Swiss Indoors on Sunday after he knocked out 2002 champion David Nalbandian of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 in 70 minutes. It was the pair's 18th career meeting (Federer 10-8 record).
• It was the first time since 1993, when No. 2 seed Michael Stich beat No. 1 seed Stefan Edberg that the top two seeds have reached the final.  
• Federer struck eight aces and lost just seven points on serve. He converted two of eight break point opportunities – at 4-2 in the first set and in the third game of the second set.
• The Basel native was playing in his hometown event for the ninth time (29-6 record). He won titles in 2006 (d. Gonzalez) and last year (d. Nieminen) in addition to runner-up finishes in back-to-back finals in 2000 (l. to Enqvist) and ’01 (l. to Henman).
• The 27-year-old superstar is tied with former World No. 1 Ilie Nastase on 57 career titles and three trophies shy of Andre Agassi (60-30 mark). Federer is 57-21 lifetime in ATP finals.
• Federer improved to 63-13 on the season, highlighted by his 13th Grand Slam title at the US Open (d. Murray) in September. He also took home silverware at Estoril (d. Davydenko) and Halle (d. Kohlschreiber).
• The Swiss also reached the final at ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo and Hamburg, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, losing to Rafael Nadal each time. He surrendered his No. 1 ranking to the Spaniard on August 18th after a record 237-week reign.
• The 26-year-old Nalbandian was making his seventh appearance in Basel (22-5 record). He clinched the 2002 title (d. Gonzalez) and finished runner-up in 2003 (W/O vs. Coria) and 2004 (l. to Novak).
• Nalbandian dropped to 2-2 in ATP finals this year and 9-9 lifetime. The Cordoba resident won ATP crowns at Buenos Aires (d. Acasuso) and Stockholm (d. Soderling). He reached the Acapulco final (l. to Almagro).
• The World No. 8 dropped to a 27-38 lifetime mark against Top 10 opponents, while Federer improved to 104-46 (7-8 in 2008).
• Federer received 250 South African Airways ATP Ranking points (50 Race points) and €145,200 while Nalbandian collected 175 ranking points (35 Race points) and €78,475.
• Four-time Tennis Masters Cup champion Federer has already qualified for the prestigious circuit finale and is No. 2 in the ATP 2008 Race with 1016 points. Nalbandian is placed No. 13 with 275 points. Three spots remain up for grabs at the eight-player Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai in November.

 WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

 Federer: “I’m happy the way things are going right now; I played well at the US Open, in Davis Cup and last week in Madrid. This was another good week for me. It was fantastic to beat one of my biggest rivals in a good match. It was great to win at home. That is what really stands out for me, realizing a childhood dream and winning the title over and over again.”

 Nalbandian: “Roger played almost perfect, he played great. He served very well and although I didn’t play bad he was better than me today. I had a good week though.”

 DOUBLES FINAL – KNOWLES CAPTURES 50^TH CAREER TITLE; THIRD CROWN THIS YEAR WITH BHUPATHI

*courtesy: ATP Media