Federer magic back on tennis court: The legend becomes oldest No. 1 in tennis history
Rotterdam, February 17: You may not believe in magic but Tennis fans definitely do. Tennis god Roger Federer has again proved age is no bar by returning to number 1 position at the age of 36. Roger Federer returned to the summit of men’s tennis for the first time in more than five years and overcame Dutch player Robin Haase.
He secured the position in the last four of the tournament with a 4-6 6-1 6-1 victory against his Dutch opponent on Friday. He was needed to reach Semi-finals in order to overtake Rafael Nadal, who was the number one in the time of last ranking update. He completely recovered from a career-threatening knee injury which happened during the second half of 2016. The injury pushed him to 17th position last year.
The match against Haase was a tough one. The Dutch started out well, holding his serve until late in the first set. He then managed to break Federer and serve out the set, perhaps putting history on hold. Federer, though, responded like the all-time great that he is, and quickly and efficiently put Haase away, running away with a 6-1 second set and then breaking twice to open the third, effectively putting the match away.