Tennis news - Federer wins Cincinnati Masters
One of the greatest players of all times, Roger Federer once again stamped his class in the final of a major tennis event as he topples American Mardy Fish in an engrossing three sets final that went the distance at the Cincinnati hard courts, enabling the Swiss maestro to annex a remarkable 63rd career title.
Federer who holds the record for most grand slam wins in the history of the game ended a seven-month lean trot with a 6-7 7-6 6-4 win in a match that lasted two and a half hours.
The match was the 90th final of his glittering career that has resulted in only 27 losses and 63 finals.
The win gave him his fourth title at Cincinnati since his first win in the tournament in 2005; however he had to battle hard against his rampant opponent who had become extremely fit after losing 30 pounds as he recuperated from an injury.
Fish’s marvellous effort has further enhanced his reputation of being a massive threat on hard-court.
His rich vein-of-form augurs well for him as he launches a bid to win the last grand slam of the year the US Open at Flushing meadows in New York.
The last grand slam of the year starts at the end of this month and both Federer and Fish would be in the running for the most lucrative grand slam tournament.
The first set was a feisty affair as both players refused to give an inch fighting all the way in a bid to outdo each other.
Eventually it was the American who won the set on a tie break with the set lasting more than seventy minutes.
However it was a different story in the second set as the momentum shifted with the Swiss maestro displaying his skills to the fullest, subsiding Fish at a crucial time in the set.
Federer who was on the brink of a defeat in the set, made a resounding comeback in the match raising the game a notch to record a 7-1 winner in another tiebreak.
Mardy Fish kept fighting all the way maintaining his calm and composure to serve and return well, however it was Federer who produced the first break of the match to take a 5-4 lead before setting out to serve out the match.
After his defeat Fish conceded that there was no shame in losing to one of the greatest players of all time "It's been a great week. I couldn't have asked for this at the start of the week, so you got to keep things in perspective -- I needed a wildcard to get in here," said Fish after his loss.
"My ranking and play have come a long way this summer," concluded Fish, on the other hand Federer was a relieved man after he eventually added one more trophy since winning his record 16th grand slam crown at the Australian Open in January.
Federer who took over the second spot from Novak Djokovic after his recent run of form added that he has started liking the Cincinnati event after initially finding it tough to motivate himself for the Masters event.
"I'm happy. I have no lingering injuries or no problems whatsoever. I'm feeling really healthy and fit, which was not the case through the grass court season. That's a relief and I'm happy I was able to start the American hard-court season so strong," he said after the match.
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