Sunday, January 11, 2015

Roger Federer rolls on into the finals at Brisbane International

He's fighting off the stars of the so-called "Millenials" generation but it's Roger Federer who can become tennis's millennium man in Brisbane.

The Swiss great will take on Canadian rising star Milos Raonic on Sunday in the Brisbane International final, knowing with a win in the decider he'll claim the 1000th win of his ATP Tour career.

Only two men, American Jimmy Connors (1253) and Czech great Ivan Lendl (1071), have claimed more than a thousand victories in tour history.


Should Federer maintain the form displayed in victories 998 and 999, it's almost a certainty that the 33-year-old will pass the milestone.

After taking just 41 minutes to demolish Australia's James Duckworth in the quarter-finals, Federer turned it on once more against highly rated Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday to claim a 6-2 6-2 semi-final win in just 53 minutes.

Since being surprised by world No.153 John Millman in his opening set of the tournament, Federer has claimed six straight sets to race into the final.

The 17-time grand slam champion, who cited his 2003 Wimbledon final victory over Australia's Mark Philippoussis as the highlight of his 999 wins, said there's no doubt claiming 1000 wins on tour would be a great achievement.

"I hope it's tomorrow, clearly," Federer said.

"It's a really big number, no doubt about it. Love to get it tomorrow, especially in the finals in an ATP event where most of my wins have come.


"If not tomorrow, I hope it happens at the Australian Open ... I don't know if it's a goal, but it would definitely be an incredible milestone to reach."

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