Swiss tennis icon Roger Federer was greeted with rapturous applause from the crowd in Basel after he breezed to victory against Alex de Minaur to claim his 10th Swiss Indoor crown – and was visibly moved as a result.
Federer claimed his 103rd ATP title with the straight sets (6-2, 6-2) win to increase his winning record in the tournament to 24 straight matches, taking the first set in a decisively swift 34 minutes.
The Swiss, playing in his 157th ATP final against de Minaur’s six, duly finished proceedings just one hour and eight minutes to claim his fourth tournament victory of 2019. Australian de Minaur, 20, was hoping to become the first person from his homeland to claim the crown but was undone by a champonship performance typical of the imperious 20-time Grand Slam winner.
Phenomenal from Roger 🇨🇭
The moment @rogerfederer secured his 10th trophy in Basel & 103rd title of his career.
Federer has come a long way in the competition since serving as a ball boy at the event in 1993 when he was a 12-year-old.
Federer has now won the Swiss indoor title five times in the last six years and the latest win comes 19 years after his debut in the competition. The trophy leaves him just six ATP titles short of the all-time record set by Jimmy Connors.
Afterwards a clearly emotional Federer attempted to address his hometown crowd in Basel to thank them for their support but with tears streaming down his face and the raucous cheering echoing through St. Jakobshalle, the country’s greatest ever player was left uncharacteristically short of words.
The Swiss has indicated that his legendary career is winding down but is expected to play next year’s Wimbledon, US Open and the Laver Cup in Boston. He has already confirmed his participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – the one remaining major tennis tournament that he has yet to win.
