Federer ties Sampras after Stockholm win

 

Originally published on: 25/10/10 10:12

Roger Federer won his 64th career title at the If Stockholm Open on Sunday to tie Pete Sampras in fourth position on the overall Open era titles list.

The 29-year-old Swiss defeated Germany’s Florian Mayer 6-4 6-3 to claim the €95,845 winner’s cheque, having dusted off Taylor Dent, battled back from a set down against Stanislas Wawrinka and seen off Ivan Ljubicic to reach the final of the ATP 250 tournament.

“It means the world to me to win this title,” said Federer, whose third triumph of the season added to his earlier titles in Melbourne and Cincinnati. “It’s always nice winning in a place like this with a tennis heritage and a lot of history.”

By virtue of his first career triumph in Sweden, the world No.2 has now claimed an ATP World Tour title in 18 different countries.

His Stockholm appearance was his first in the Swedish capital since 2000, when the then-19-year-old Swiss lost to 110th-ranked Mikhail Youzhny in the second round.

And Federer, who has won 52 tour-level matches this season, is gearing up for his ninth straight appearance at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in good form, having beaten Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic in Shanghai earlier this month.

After sealing his place in London at the US Open in September, Federer admitted his excitement at returning to England for the season-ending showpiece.

“I have played in a lot of different venues during my career and I can say they staged a fantastic event at The 02 last year,” he said.

“I look forward to returning there in November and finishing the season strong.”

Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here