Roger Federer downs Grigor Dimitrov to win 97th title

Switzerland's Roger Federer with the Rotterdam Open trophy. Pic/AFP

Switzerland's Roger Federer with the Rotterdam Open trophy. Pic/AFP

Roger Federer celebrated his impending return to the top of the world rankings by winning the Rotterdam Open yesterday, his 97th title. The Swiss, 36, the oldest ATP No. 1 in history, thrashed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2 in a one-sided final. In the Open era, only American Jimmy Connors has won more titles than Federer, with 109. Federer will retake the No. 1 ranking he last held in October 2012 when the official rankings are published today.

He has played two tournaments this year and won both - the other being Australian Open. He is three years older than American Andre Agassi was when holding the record for oldest No. 1 back in 2003. This was his third victory in Rotterdam following successes in 2005 and 2012.

This was his third title in Rotterdam following successes in 2005 and 2012 and he now stands 12-0 for the season. The iconic Swiss star needed just 55 minutes to dispatch Dimitrov who looked to be under-cooked in the quickfire final. Federer now stands a perfect 7-0 over the Bulgarian in their head-to-head series. Two breaks per set were enough for Federer to advance to the trophy.

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