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New world No.1 Roger Federer wins Rotterdam for 97th title

Roger Federer celebrated his return to the top of the world rankings by winning the Rotterdam Open on Sunday, his 97th career title, and declared it "one of the best weeks of my life".

Published: 18 February 2018 22:52 CET
New world No.1 Roger Federer wins Rotterdam for 97th title
Federer, who has a 12-0 record on the season. Photo: Koen Suyk / ANP / AFP

The 36-year-old, the oldest No.1 in history, thrashed ailing Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2 in a one-sided final.

In the Open era, only American Jimmy Connors has won more titles with 109.

“What a fantastic week,” top seed Federer said. “The goal at start of week was to make it to the semi-finals. This is absolutely amazing, I'm really pleased.”

“It's unbelievable to be number one again after all these (six) years – this is one of the best weeks of my life.”

Federer, the record 20-time Grand Slam winner, will officially reclaim the number one ranking he last held in October 2012 when the new ATP rankings are published on Monday.

He has played two tournaments this year and won both – the other being January's Australian Open which he won for the sixth time.

“I saved the best for last,” added Federer, who has a 12-0 record on the season, before jetting home to his family.

“I had a great first match and a great last match. In between it was a battle, it was nerve-wracking getting back to number one. But I was able to manage my nerves and the expectations.

“I was able to handle that pressure, today I played great from the beginning.”

Federer is three years older than American Andre Agassi was when previously holding the record for oldest No.1 back in 2003.

Next step 100 titles

As for chasing down Connors's record of 109 titles, Federer said his first objective was to get to 100.

“97 is not 100 yet, you've got to stay healthy if you want to get close to finals. Things can evaporate quickly,” warned Federer.

Sunday was Federer' third title in Rotterdam following successes in 2005 and 2012 and he now stands 12-0 for the season.

The iconic Swiss star needed just 55 minutes to dispatch Dimitrov who looked to be under-cooked in the quickfire final.

Federer now stands a perfect 7-0 over the Bulgarian in their head-to-head series.

“I was expecting a tough final, but I could see that Grigor was not at his best midway through. He's a great player and a great athlete and has been playing well recently.

“I was able to improve my tennis today when I needed to, I was able to take advantage. I'm very, very happy.”

Dimitrov refused to blame any kind of physical or fitness problem for his weak showing although tournament director Richard Krajicek said that the player had been sick.

“Overall, it was a good week, I just came up short today. Anything can happen out there, all credit to Roger. He's back to number one, played well all week and kept raising the bar,” he said.

Federer will now decide within a few days whether or not to travel to Dubai for the ATP event starting a week from Monday.

He has a home and training base in the UAE and has won the hardcourt tournament seven times.

His effort in Rotterdam appeared to take little out of him physically, with his only loss of a set coming in the quarter-final against Robin Haase.

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SWITZERLAND EXPLAINED

Everything you need to know about Schwingen in Switzerland

Have you heard of Schwingen? Switzerland's national sport involves jute shorts, sawdust, and a whole lot of wrestling,

Published: 7 February 2024 14:19 CET
Everything you need to know about Schwingen in Switzerland

While relatively unknown outside of Switzerland, and largely concentrated in the country’s German-speaking cantons, Schwingen is Switzerland’s homegrown form of wrestling.

In a sawdust ring, two competitors aim to throw each other onto their backs, with both shoulders touching the ground. Each time this is achieved, a point is awarded to the victor.

All this throwing is achieved by grabbing the leather belt attached to the jute shorts worn by the combatants.

As simple as this sounds, there are several styles of Schwingen and hundreds of recorded holds and grips. Size and strength play a significant role in Schwingen, but flexibility cannot be discounted as a factor in determining a champion. 

A proud history 

Like any martial art, the origins of Schwingen are lost to history, but it’s safe to say that just like the Schuhplattler of neighbouring Bavaria – that’s the slappy lederhosen dance – it’s been around for thousands of years, practised by mountain tribes, and later shepherds tending mountain flocks.

The first depictions in art date from the 13th century and the first written records from the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century, when local church authorities sought to crack down on the rowdy celebrations that these competitions were associated with.

Indeed, Schwingen was massively restricted for hundreds of years, under the fear that it was leading to drunkenness and all manner of other sinning. The large majority of Schwingen meets at this time took place in isolated areas, far from prying eyes. 

All of this changed with the arrival of industrialization, railways and tourism. With many flocking to rural Switzerland for the beauty of outdoor spaces and quaint local customs, Schwingen was brought back to the cities by fascinated spectators and became so popular that it needed to be codified and organized to regulate it.

To this end, the Schwingerverbandes, or Federal Wrestling Association was founded in 1895.

Read More: Schwingen: Everything you need to know about Switzerland’s ‘national sport’

More popular than ever 

Schwingen is now a very popular sport within Switzerland, practised by a dedicated core of amateurs and professionals, and watched by far, far more,

Experiencing a further boom throughout the 20th century, boosted by broadcast media, it became mass entertainment. It’s a televised sport, revolving around several key meets, at the canton and federal levels. In addition to youth Schwingen, there have been women’s competitions since 1980.

The Federal Swiss Wrestling and Alpine Festival is the apogee of competitive Schwingen, held every three years – think of it like a Swiss Olympics. The next will be in Glarnerland in 2025. 

Another massive event for Schwingen fans is the Unspunnenfest, held every twelve years in Interlaken. The next of these will be held in 2029.

Crowned in 2022, Joel Wicki from the canton of Luzern is the current Swiss Schwingen champion. Topping out at just over six feet, and weighing in at 110kg, he’s far from the biggest contestants – but then again, it’s not always strength that matters in a Schwingen bout. 

Want to get involved? 

While Schwingen isn’t exactly the kind of thing that international visitors generally involve themselves in, there is a fully packed calendar of events throughout the year for spectators.

These range from indoor events in the winter months, to the larger outdoor competitions during the summer. You can find out more on the Federal Wrestling Association’s website.

You can also track Schwingen competitions, and find out where to watch them on TV or online, via Sport.ch.

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