Federer defeats Del Potro for 71st career title

February 19, 2012

Roger Federer won his 71st career title on Sunday, defeating Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets, 6-1 6-4. The Swiss maestro was playing in his 101st career final, storming out to a 5-0 lead in the first set. Del Potro was unable to keep pace with Federer, who is known to play quickly. The second set was a closer contest, with the Argentine leading 2-1 before the Swiss broke and then went on to win five of the next seven games, closing out the match with an easy overhead.

Federer has now on a title for the 12th consecutive year, and extends his head to head record vs Del Potro to 9-2. It is the second title in Rotterdam for the Swiss maestro, who was playing for the first time since 2005, when he also won the title.

Photo via ATP World Tour

Highlights.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdIBtJjBAB0&feature=share

Trophy ceremony.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad8p3DLlxyY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Interview.

Federer has now won his last four indoor tournaments, and six of the last eight. Next on the schedule for the Swiss maestro is a week of rest before playing the ATP 500 event in Dubai, starting February 27. See RF Activity for more.