In 1999, 17-year-old Roger Federer, ranked 178th, played in Rotterdam for the first time and had a great run, reaching the quarter-finals before losing to no. 2, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, in three tight sets.
Nineteen years later, 36-year-old Roger lifted Rotterdam with his third title (2005 and 2012) and No. 1 in the rankings after a 6-2, 6-2 win over Grigor Dimitrov in just 55 minutes on February 18. of 2018.
It was Roger’s 97th ATP crown and the second of the season after defending his Australian Open title by beating number five for the seventh time in as many games. Grigor was there to fight Roger in the first four games before Federer ran for the remainder of the match, never faced a break point and stole Grigor’s serve four times out of eight opportunities.
Tournament director Richard Krajicek later revealed that Dimitrov became ill on Saturday night and was unable to play at his best, which was evident on the court. It was the 20th ATP 500 crown for Roger, who became the leader in that category after leaving Nadal on the 19th.
At 36, the Swiss became No. 1 and reached the 10,000 point mark for the first time since January 2013. Roger was flawless in his service games, losing seven points and keeping Grigor out of break opportunities.
Roger Federer won the Rotterdam title on February 18, 2018.
On the other hand, Dimitrov couldn’t do much with serve, hitting just one ace and losing 45% of points to find himself in trouble in almost every service game after those deuces early in the match.
It was the most desired final once the draw came out, and they got off to a great start, with just three points for returners in the first four games. Suddenly, Grigor faded from the court and never regained his composure after missing a backhand that cost him his service game at 2-2.
Roger took full control and broke again in the seventh game after a groundstroke error from the Bulgarian. A service winner gave Federer the first set at 5-2, winning 20 of the last 26 points to bring the set home in 25 minutes.
Grigor struggled again in set number two, adding a wide backhand to drop serve in the first game and move further away from the title. The Bulgarian saved a break point in the third game to end his drought, but Roger pulled out another break when Grigor double faulted at 1-3.
A volley winner gave Federer the title in the eighth game, completing one of his fastest wins in the ATP Finals and celebrating a historic week that sent him to the ATP throne for the first time since 2012!
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