Del Potro downs Federer, wins Swiss Indoors trophy

Basel, Switzerland (4E Sports) – Second seed Juan Martin del Potro captured his fourth ATP tour trophy this year with a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3) victory over top seed and five-time champion Roger Federer in Sunday’s Swiss Indoors Basel final.

Del Potro finished the match in two hours and 45 minutes to win his second straight title after ruling the Erste Bank Open tournament seven days ago in Vienna.

The Argentine also spoiled Federer’s bid for a 77th career title, which would have tied him at No. 3 in the Open Era titles list with John McEnroe.

“It was an unbelievable final, the match was really close,” said del Potro. “After six losses, it was a big win for me. I was fighting all the time. I got lucky in the end, but I felt that I played a really good match.

“I was focused on my defensive game, keeping the ball in play and building my confidence in order to break his serve. It was tough for both of us. I was to enjoy this title, then get ready to play in Paris and London,” added del Potro.

Del Potro beat Federer for the first time since November 2009 at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and improved his career record against the world No. 1 to 3-13.

With the win, del Potro earned 337,900 euros (about $437,000) and earned 500 ATP ranking points while Federer settled for 152,350 euros ($197,000) and 300 points for his efforts.

“He has been playing really well this season. I have played him seven times. Every time, I can see he is extremely tough. He has been making the right improvements throughout the year. He is, basically, right there again,” Federer said of del Potro.

Meanwhile, world No. 5 David Ferrer bagged his sixth title this year after beating Ukraine’s Alexander Dolgopolov, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, in the final of the Valencia Open 500.

Ferrer, who also won the event in 2008 and 2010, finished the match in one hour, 49 minutes to improve his overall record in ATP Tour finals to 17-15.

On the women’s side, Serena Williams continued her mastery over Maria Sharapova, beating the Russian sensation, 6-4, 6-3, to win the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships-Istanbul 2012 trophy.

With the win, Williams extended her winning streak against Sharapova to 10 matches en route to her seventh WTA crown of the year, the American’s best finish since winning eight titles in 2002.

“I would say it’s pretty much the best season of my career, a little bit of a slow start though, so I have to give it to 2002 – but there’s always 2013,” she added.

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