Roger Federer raised both arms triumphantly when his ace finished it off. After years of having everyone else’s number, he had a special one of his own. Fifty for Federer.
The Swiss star reached another measure of greatness on Sunday, winning his 50th tournament title by beating James Blake 6-1, 6-4 in the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Mason, Ohio.
At 26, he became the fifth-youngest player to reach 50, and only the ninth overall in the Open Era — since 1968 — to win so many tournaments.
“It’s not a goal I set for myself in my career, but it’s definitely a nice number to get to, especially in terms of titles,” Federer said. “It’s really a lot, you know, so it’s great.”
There could be a lot more to come. Given the way he played on Sunday, nobody would be surprised if the U.S. Opens winds up being No. 51. The higher the stakes, the better he plays.
“Just about everything he does is pretty impressive,” said Blake, 27, who has yet to beat Federer in seven matches and has won only one of their 19 sets. “So, yeah, 50 titles at any age is impressive. Fifty titles at 26 is incredible.”
*WTA: Top-ranked Justine Henin defeated Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (3), 7-5 to win the Rogers Cup in Toronto, her first tournament since losing in the semifinals at Wimbledon. Henin is 7-0 against Jankovic.
Jankovic had a 4-1 lead in the opening set before Henin pulled even, eventually winning in a tiebreaker. Henin kept up her strong play in the second set, winning her sixth title of the season in the warmup to the U.S. Open.
*No. 5 seed Patty Schnyder of Switzerland was upset by Italy’s Francesca Schiavone 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-4 in the first round of the Pilot Pen.
