Two wins separate Roger Federer from creating history on the men’s tour by becoming the oldest ever No.1 player.
This week the 36-year-old is required to reach the semifinals of the Rotterdam Open in order to dethrone Rafael Nadal from the top of the rankings. He kicked off his bid in emphatic fashion on Wednesday by thrashing Ruben Bemelmans 6-1, 6-2, in just 46 minutes. Prompting the Dutch world No.116 to say that Federer ‘was the best player he has ever played.’
“[It was] very surprising how good things went today,” Federer said after the match. “I think the key was to start off well and put Ruben under pressure right away and make him feel like he had to do something special.”
Within touching distance of returning to No.1 for the first time since 2012, Federer also has another milestone on his mind. Success in Rotterdam this week would reward him his 97th ATP title. Moving him closer to the 100 mark. In the Open Era, America’s Jimmy Connors is the only player in history to win 100 or more titles on the tour. He ended his career with 109 trophies to his name.
“I like to win titles being on a Tour. Being at a hundred would be an extremely cool number,” he said.
“Here I am at 96. World number one would be very special. Good matches, good feelings, good vibes.
“You need to have goals when you want to be successful.”
Federer, who will take on Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round, says returning back to the top of the rankings would be perfect payback for his team. Since returning to the tour at the start of last year following a knee injury, he has won three out of the five grand slam tournaments.
“It’s for my team. It is more for everyone who helped me come back. Coaches go way back, it would be a massive achievement for them.” He explained about potentially returning to No.1.
Federer goes into his clash against Kohlschreiber on Thursday with a dominant head-to-head record of 12-0.
