Swiss tennis superstar Roger Federer has officially qualified for the year-end ATP World Tour Finals for a record-setting 13th consecutive by virtue of winning the ATP Masters 1000 Western & Southern Open title in Cincinnati on Sunday. Federer won the Cincinnati Masters for a sixth time.
Federer, currently ranked number three in the world, joins world number one Novak Djokovic and number two Rafael Nadal in the elite eight-man event that will take place in London’s O2 from November 9 to 16, 2014.
Federer is the most successful player at the year-end championships, having won a record number of six titles (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2011). He’s compiled a 44-11 record at this event.
“It’s always one of the big goals I set myself at the beginning of the season,” said Federer. “It’s always an absolute honour being part of the best eight. Getting a chance to win an extra trophy at the end of the season – which is so prestigious, one of the biggest ones we have in the game and one I’ve done so well at – is a great feeling. Returning to the season finale is something I’ve been a part of since 2002, so to do it again is a privilege and I will try to play my very best there. I hope I can save some of my best for last.”
Federer started this year in a strong note, having finished runner-up to Lleyton Hewitt at the Brisbane International. He backed it up with another semifinal showing at the Australian Open. He would post a strong February month by winning the ATP 500 Dubai Tennis Championships for a sixth time. He reached the finals in Masters events in Indian Wells, Monte Carlo and Toronto before breaking the runner-up streak with a title win in Cincinnati.
