Brisbane – Roger Federer notched his 1 000th career victory and collected his 83rd title with a seesawing 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4 win over Milos Raonic in the Brisbane International final on Sunday.
The 17-time major winner broke Raonic’s serve in the third game and again in the opening game of the second set before the Canadian broke back in the fourth game and then dominated the tiebreaker, winning the last seven points to level the match at 1-1.
After overcoming his early nerves, third-seeded Raonic was playing a cool, composed game until he served his first double-fault of the third set, giving Federer championship point. He netted a forehand on the next point to end the 2 hour, 13-minute match.
Only retired greats Jimmy Connors (1 253) and Ivan Lendl (1 071) have won more than 1 000 matches on the men’s tour.
The Aussie fans love an underdog, and backed Raonic while he was down early in the match. But as the final progressed and an upset loomed, the Pat Rafter Arena crowd got right behind Federer and cheered his every winner.
After a sudden end to the match, Federer raised his arms to acknowledge the “Federer 1 000” placards being waved around the stadium.
Ballboys held up the number 1 000 in big, white letters near the net during the presentation ceremony, when Federer accepted the trophy from Roy Emerson and a framed montage of images with the words “Congratulations Roger, 1 000 match wins” from Australian great Rod Laver.
“Special moment. I’m glad I got it,” Federer said. “To get to 1 000 match wins in front of you guys; it really means a lot to me. I’ll never forget this match.”
The 33-year-old Swiss star started the 2015 season with a 996-227 career win-loss record and become only the third man to reach the 1 000 wins milestone with victories over Australian wildcards John Millman and James Duckworth, fourth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov and third-seeded Raonic, whom he now leads 8-1 in head-to-head encounters. – Sapa-AP