Roger Federer reflects on 'one of those weeks I will never forget' after Rotterdam Open win
KEY POINTS
- Federer defeated Grigor Dimitrov to win his 97th career title.
- The 36-year-old also became the oldest world number one in Rotterdam.
Roger Federer has labelled the past week as one he will never forget in his life after winning the 2018 Rotterdam Open.
Federer comfortably defeated Grigor Dimitrov in a straight set 6-2, 6-2 victory to win his second title of the year following his Australian Open triumph last month.
His 97th career title follows the Swiss legend's achievement of becoming the oldest world number one in tennis history after his quarter-final win over Robin Haase, overtaking previous incumbent Rafael Nadal in the ATP rankings.
"It's been unbelievable. I can't believe it," Federer said after being presented with the trophy. "I got my 97th title, back to world number one after all these years.
"It's definitely one of those weeks I will never forget in my life so it's very, very special."
The win was even more impressive given the recent form of Dimitrov, nicknamed "Baby Fed" for his playing style, which is similar to the 36-year-old. Dimitrov had won the ATP Finals in London in November 2017. However, Federer was never troubled by the Bulgarian.
"No, of course not [I did not expect it to be this easy]," Federer added. "I was expecting it to be tough and of course, be in trouble to be quite honest because Grigor's a great player, a great athlete, he's been playing super well in recent months so I thought this was not going to be the result.
"I think he struggled a little bit at some point in that first set but honestly, I never looked back, I played great and felt the best by far this week.
"I just think I was able to execute the tennis I wanted to and Grigor couldn't hold against it because he was maybe feeling a little dizzy and stuff but I was able to take advantage of that and get the title so I'm very, very happy."
Federer now holds a 345-point lead over Nadal and will make a decision soon whether to take part in the Dubai Open that takes place from 26 February.
The Spaniard, meanwhile, is set to return to action at the Mexican Open in Acapulco which commences on the same date.
