It may not be quite Derek Jeter getting his 3,000th hit in the form of a home run, but Roger Federer accomplished another feat of his own in a fashion befitting of Federer’s legendary career.
The 33-year-old Swiss earned his 1,000th match victory by winning the Brisbane International title on Sunday. He held off a hard-charging Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2 in two hours and 13 minutes.
Raonic, who was 1-7 lifetime in the head-to-head series heading into the showdown, briefly looked like he would get blown clean off the court in the blink of an eye. The big-serving Canadian trailed by a set and a break before storming back. He also fell behind 2-0 in the second-set tiebreaker only to run off seven points in succession.
The final’s decisive service break did not come until 5-4 in the third, when Federer came up big when it mattered most to clinch victory.
“It was a great tennis match,” Raonic reflected. “I stayed out there, competed, gave it my all. I gave myself a chance after being down a set and a break.”
Federer was not disappointed that it turned out to be such a competitive encounter.
“Looking back, it’s almost nicer winning this way through a tight match with nerves and humid conditions against a great player in a final,” he said. “It means so much more than just running away with it with the score maybe 6-4, 6-4, which was looking very likely at one stage. I guess I was much more happy having to go three sets in the end rather than winning in straight.
“It’s a special moment, no doubt about it,” Federer continued, referring to the milestone. “I’ve played a lot of tennis over the years, so to get to 1000 wins tonight really means a lot to me. I’ll never forget this match.”
The 17-time Grand Slam champion joins Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl as the only three men in the Open Era with 1,000 wins.
“You work hard and prepare hard to play consistently,” Lendl explained. “I remember when I played over 100 matches per year in the 1980s and never thought about it. Obviously, getting to 1,000 wins is more difficult than it seems. It’s really rare. But I looked at it as a by-product of winning so many matches and being consistent for that long.”
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.
Topics: Atp, Brisbane, Federer 1000th, Federer is betterer, milos raonic, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Tennis
-@rogerfederer REACHES 1,000 WIN MILESTONE IN STYLE WITH #BRISBANE TITLE BY @Dimonator http://t.co/8zfOg9dy0L #federer1000 #BrisbaneTennis