The Shanghai Masters champion says he got “very, very lucky”, with his 7-6 (6), 7-6 (2) win over France’s Gilles Simon in Sunday’s final.
Federer gave Simon an immediate break for 1-0 at the start of the match, after playing a very loose service game. Before the final, he had only dropped serve three times all week.
The Swiss star later revealed that he almost called it quits, as he felt rusty during his first match last week, following a month-long break. Federer had racked up 57 unforced errors against Leonardo Mayer in the second round, and fought off five match points before he finally pulled through well after midnight.
Just four days after his narrow escape, Federer however managed to reclaim himself and capture his fourth title of the year at the Shanghai Masters.
So far, Federer has had a good run this year despite falling short at the majors, including a heart-breaking loss to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. He currently leads the tour this season in match wins (61), top-10 wins (13) and final appearances (9).
The 17-time Grand Slam winner will leap past Rafael Nadal to second spot in the rankings today, for the first time in over a year.
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