In a replay of many a great tennis matches, Roger Federer defeated his greatest rival Rafael Nadal to claim his seventh Swiss Indoors and 88th career title in Basel on Sunday.
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The 34-year-old went into the game looking to end a run of five successive defeats against the Spaniard and things started well when he broke Nadal’s serve at the second opportunity in the first set to move 4-2 ahead.
Federer then saved a break point in the next game and wrapped up the set by breaking Nadal to love with his 16th of 44 winners.
It proved far from an easy hold, with a resilient Nadal saving a match point at 40-30 down.
The Spaniard retrieved the break in the fourth game, 2-2, with a forehand victor.
Ferrer and Nishikori join three-time defending champion and 2008 victor Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, six-time former victor Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych and Nadal in London.
“I lost but I was close to winning, very close”, said Nadal, who still has a 23-11 career hold over Federer, including 14-7 in tournament finals. “In Madrid a couple of times in finals, but I have never played him in his home”. But Federer finally got the breakthrough in the eighth game, getting to deuce before seeing Nadal send a backhand long to give the Swiss star the game and the chance to serve for the match.
Federer cautioned against underestimating Nadal, who has endured several injuries since their rivalry peaked in the last decade. However, in the sixth game of the first set, Federer turned the tables on Nadal.
Federer improved to 12-1 in Basel semi-finals with his only loss coming in 2002 against David Nalbandian.
Gasquet is chasing one of the last two spots remaining in the eight-player finale. Federer had a smoother path, and Sock did well to stretch the match beyond one hour when Federer was two points from victory serving with a 5-2 lead.
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The Swiss maestro duly did just that and with it he secured his place in the final of his home tournament. But despite trailing by a set and a break, Nadal refused to yield, bringing the set back on serve at 2-all.
