Roger Federer triumphs at the Stockholm Open
Roger Federer claimed his 64th ATP title at the Stockholm Open on Sunday, 24 October, overcoming Germany's Florian Mayer 6–4 6–3.
Playing in intimate surroundings at Stockholm's Royal Tennis Hall, which has a capacity of 5000 (a fifth of the number of spectators at the US Open), the Swiss was barely troubled by Mayer, whose unconventional game failed to catch him off-guard.
"No player will really surprise me any more," Federer told Swedish TV channel SVT after the victory. "But I like a player with a different style, like Mayer did today. You have to adjust and come up with different ideas yourself, and that's what I like to
do to my opponents, to mix it up and come with something new."
Mayer squandered the break
Despite Federer's focused display at the start of the first set, it was Mayer's who broke first, going up to a 4–3 lead that could have seen him clinch the opening set.
But the Swiss retained his focus and broke back straight away after some entertaining rallies between the players, both of whom showed superior racquet control. The long rallies were made possible by the slow court the final was played on.
"I had my chance at 4–3 up in the first set," Mayer said after the game. "But then I started thinking 'I can beat him' — and that was a mistake. He started playing better, I lost my concentration a little bit and I lost the first set. He was too good."
Strong returns from Federer
As Mayer served to stay in the set, Federer shifted gears and began advancing to the net again. The 29-year-old, untroubled by Mayer's serve, continued to hit strong returns that he converted into points with ease.
Federer proved too strong for the German in the second set, even though Mayer continued to hit some unexpected shots to challenge his opponent.
Trailing 0–15 when serving to tie the games at 3–3, Mayer forced the Swiss to sprint towards the net with a clever drop shot, but Federer made it in time to the ball, looping it over the net and down the line to pass the German.
Federer broke to 4–2 and held his serve to claim the second set 6–3 in a game that was always within his reach.
With 64 ATP titles to his name, the Swiss surpasses Bjorn Borg's total of 63, matching the number of titles Pete Sampras won during his career.
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