Roger Federer got the better of old rival Rafael Nadal for the first time in more than three years to win a seventh Basel title 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 on Sunday.
Top seed Federer, whose rivalry with Nadal is one of the most storied in tennis history, had not beaten the Spaniard since he won a semi-final at Indian Wells in 2012 and had lost their past five matches.
The pair had not met across a net for 21 months, so there was an added sense of anticipation as Federer walked on court for his 12th final in his home city.
Photo: EPA
He survived a break point in his opening service game before grabbing the upper hand.
The Swiss broke twice to take the opening set and went about putting pressure on third seed Nadal at the start of the second, crafting a break point at 3-2 ahead.
However, Nadal dug deep to stay in the contest and claimed his first break of the match for a 6-5 lead as Federer netted a backhand, leaving the Mallorcan to serve out to love.
The Swiss broke decisively to lead 5-3 in the third set and served out to take the title, the 88th of his career, after 2 hours, 3 minutes of battle.
“It was one of my best weeks in Basel, considering everything I’ve done throughout my career here,” Federer told reporters. “I thought the match was close. I had my chances in the second, but he fought back well, like he’s done throughout the week really. Overall, I was really happy how I played and it was a very special day.”
Nadal, who has enjoyed a return to form after a relatively poor year by his standards, fell just short of claiming only the second indoor hard court title of his career.
“My goal is to get back to my level and be competitive against the top players again and today I was very competitive against one of the best players in the world,” he said. “The match wasn’t far away from me.”
Seventeen-time Grand Slam champion Federer now trails Nadal 23-11 in their head-to-head series.
Both men are planning to head to France for next week’s Paris Masters before the ATP World Tour Finals in London.
VALENCIA OPEN
Reuters, MADRID
Joao Sousa ended a run of three straight finals defeats this year when the unseeded Portuguese recovered from a set and a break down to beat Roberto Bautista Agut 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and claim the Valencia Open title on Sunday.
Sousa, who has lost finals in Switzerland, Croatia and Russia this year, secured his second career title when he converted four of his five break points to upset seventh-seeded Bautista Agut in front of his home crowd.
The Spaniard, playing his second final in as many weeks having lost to Croat Marin Cilic at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow last weekend, felt the pace as the match wore on and needed treatment after Sousa made it one-set all on the indoor hardcourt.
On Saturday, world No. 24 Bautista Agut had battled for more than two hours and had to save six match points to get past American Steve Johnson 4-6 6-3 7-6 (9/8).
Sousa, ranked No. 46, dropped only one set on the way to the final, his seventh on the ATP Tour, and the Valencia title follows his only other success, in Kuala Lumpur in 2013.
“When he was a break up in the second, I decided to change a bit my tactic and try to be more solid and it was the key,” Sousa said.
“I also know he was probably very tired as he had a tough week and, as I said on court, playing at home is great, but also adds a bit more pressure,” the 26-year-old said. “I have been based in Spain since I was 15 years old, so in a way I feel a bit at home and it’s great to be able to win this title here and in front of my family, who I had no idea was going to come, they drove 10 hours from Portugal to be here today.”
Sousa’s victory was somewhat overshadowed by the announcement after the final by tournament director Juan Carlos Ferrero that the event would not be held next year due to a disagreement with the Valencia regional government.
“It’s very sad, of course, so many efforts have been made to promote tennis in this region and have a great tournament here,” Bautista Agut said. “This is a tournament that players like to come and play; for me even more since it’s always special to play at home.”
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