PARIS – Roger Federer’s tough season is ending on a high, the Swiss star beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 7-6 (3) on Sunday to win his first Paris Masters and 69th title of a glittering career.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion had never previously reached the Paris final, but restricted the sixth-seeded Frenchman to limited opportunities after saving two break points in his opening service game.’I’m just ecstatic to have played so well this week,’ Federer said. ‘I have had many attempts to win Paris and for some reason I wasn’t able to. It’s a special victory.’The former No. 1 will end the season without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2002, and his ranking has dropped to No. 4. But Federer has bounced back with a venom, winning the Swiss Indoors last week and Paris.’I have had some really tough losses this year, but I kept believing the year wasn’t over,’ said Federer, who squandered a match point against top-ranked Novak Djokovic in their US Open semifinal. ‘I’m not playing to prove anything to anybody. I play for myself, I play for Switzerland (and) just to enjoy myself.’Federer took six weeks off after the Davis Cup playoff against Australia in mid-September and feels it paid off.’I always plan in the long term,’ Federer said. ‘I know how grueling it is out there. Even I need my time away.’His 18th Masters title puts him one ahead of Andre Agassi and one behind all-time leader Rafael Nadal.The 30-year-old Federer heads into the eight-man ATP World Tour Finals in London next week on a 12-match winning streak.’I can still finish this year on a high,’ he said. ‘Now I have a massive highlight coming up in a week’s time.’It was his third title of the season and his only Masters. Djokovic has won five Masters this year, third-ranked Andy Murray has won two and Nadal has one. – Nampa-AP
