At the Stockholm Open, Roger Federer added another title to his list when he won the tournament after defeating Florian Mayer of Germany in a 6-4, 6-3 match. As a result of his victory, he has reached a tie with Pete Sampras, both having 64 career titles.
Since the counting started in 1968, there are only three people who have won more singles tournaments than the currently tied Sampras and Federer. These players are John McEnroe with 77 titles, Ivan Lendl with 94, and topping the list is Jimmy Connors with 109 titles.
Regarding his current tie with Sampras, Federer said, “It’s amazing that I’m there where Pete’s ended his career on… You never know when it’s your last one. That’s why you want to savor every tournament victory.”
By defeating Mayer during their match at Royal Tennis Hall, Federer has just won his third title for the 2010 season. Mayer is currently unseeded, and he broke his service in the seventh game just before Federer started hitting winning shots to take over the whole set. So far, this was the match that showed some glimpses of the Federer’s best for during the second set, where he efficiently mixed power and finesse. As a result, the match ended just 3 minutes after an hour.
Federer said, “It feels great winning any tournament, but especially in a country where I’ve never been successful before… Mayer played a really good match in the final, and I had to really come up with some good tennis.”