By Alberto Amalfi | Sunday, January 11, 2015
Roger Federer fought through three challenging sets to earn a four-figure milestone.
The 33-year-old Federer registered his 1000th match win, defeating Milos Raonic, 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-4 in the Brisbane final to collect his 83rd career title.
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"It's a special moment, no doubt about it," said Federer. "I've played a lot of tennis over the years, so to get to 1000 wins tonight really means a lot to me. I'll never forget this match."
Aussie legends Rod Laver and Roy Emerson joined the top-seeded Swiss for a special award presentation on court. Federer joins Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl as just the third man in Open era history to reach the four-figure milestone.
"Clearly its a special day for me; winning a title plus getting to the magic number of one thousand it feels very different to any other match I've ever won," Federer said. "Because I never thought about reaching five hundred or eight hundred. For some reason all those numbers didn't mean anything to me. But for some reason the one thousand really means a lot because it's such a huge number. Just to count to one thousand is going to take a while. Funny emotions right now, but clearly proud and very happy."
In a rematch of the 2014 Wimbledon semifinals, the top-seeded Federer was on course for a straight-sets victory with a one set, one-break lead. But Raonic rallied, winning eight straight points to eventually snatch a 3-2 advantage. Trailing 0-2 in the tiebreaker, the Canadian reeled off seven points in a row to seize the second set and force the decider.
Fighting off five break points in the final set, Federer gained match point on a Raonic double fault in the 10th game. When Raonic netted a forehand, Federer has his "magic number."
"Looking back, it's almost nicer winning this way through a tight match with nerves and humid conditions against a great player in a final," said Federer. "It means so much more than just running away with it with the score maybe 6-4, 6-4, which was looking very likely at one stage. I guess I was much more happy having to go three sets in the end rather than winning in straight."
Achieving a milestone in Brisbane, Federer sets his sights on another mark in Melbourne. The 17-time Grand Slam champion believes he can win the Australian Open for the first time since 2010.
"Yeah, I do believe that," Federer said. "But then again, it's just talk. At the end, I've got to do the running I've got to do the the clutch play when it matters most like tonight. We'll see how it goes. Clearly, I do believe I have a shot in Melbourne otherwise I would go home on Tuesday."