Roger Federer fought off an ace assault from a dogged Ivo Karlovic to reach his 11th Swiss Indoors Basel final, prevailing 7-6(8), 3-6, 6-3 on Saturday.
The hometown hero extended his win streak to 11 straight as he continued his push to conclude the season as year-end World No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The five-time Basel champion will contest his 123rd title match on the ATP World Tour against Belgian rising star David Goffin.
Federer overcame 33 aces from the big-serving Croat to claim victory after one hour and 42 minutes, winning 80 per cent of points on his own serve. The 33 year old staved off a pair of set points in a grueling 18-point first set tie-break and would eventually secure the opener after rifling a backhand passing shot, one of his 40 winners on the day.
The lone previous meeting between Federer and Goffin came in the 2012 Roland Garros fourth round. The Swiss stormed back from a set down to prevail in four tight sets.
No comments:
Post a Comment