Roger Federer to reclaim World No. 2 rank after clinching 7th Cincinnati title

Roger Federer successfully defended and won his seventh crown at Cincinnati after beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets on Sunday’s final 7-6(1) 6-3 at the 2015 Western & Southern Open. Federer’s recent title means he will reclaim the World No. 2 rank when the new Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Emirates world rankings are released on Aug. 31.

The 17-time Swiss grand slam champion first achieved the World No. 2 rank in August 2003 after winning his first major title at the All England Club. He spent 39 consecutive weeks at World No. 2 since October 2014 before dropping one notch down last week when Andy Murray won his third Rogers Cup title in Montreal. However, Federer seemed determined to reclaim the spot from the British tennis star, whom he beat in the semifinal of the 2015 Western & Southern Open 6-4 7-6.

Federer cruised past the early rounds and won all his matches in straight sets to reach the final where he met long time rival and current World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who was bidding to win his first title in Cincinnati and claim all ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles. However, Federer denied the Serb a Career Golden Masters on Sunday. He won $731,000 (AU$ 1,008,300) and 1000 points from the tournament. Federer has extended his head-to-head series against Djokovic 21-20 after the claiming the Cincinnati trophy, his 84^th career title and 24^th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title.

“I don’t know how many years I can come back,” Federer said after the match, reported ESPN. “But, I’ll try my best to be here many more years to come.”

Federer, 34, first claimed his Cincinnati title in 2005. He also previously won the tournament in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014.

The Swiss, 34, now heads to Flushing Meadows for the last major tournament of the season at the US Open. Federer is a five-time US Open champion (2004-2008). He is also bidding to win his first major title in the last three years. The last time that Federer won a grand slam tournament was during the 2012 Wimbledon Championships when he defeated Murray 4–6 7–5 6–3 6–4.

Meanwhile, top-ranked female tennis player Serena Williams was also able to successfully defend her title at the 2015 Western & Southern Open. She beat Romanian Simona Halep 6-3 7-6 on Centre Court on Sunday. According to the tournament’s website, it was the first time in 78 years that both the men’s and women’s singles champions were able to defend their titles. Bobby Riggs and Virginia Hollinger defended the titles in 1937 and 1938.

In the men’s doubles event, Canadian Daniel Nestor and Frenchman Edourd Roger-Vasselin beat Polish Marcin Matkowski and Serbian Nenad Zimonjic 6-2 6-2. In the women’s doubles event, Australia’s Casey Dellacqua and Kazakhstan’s Yaroslova Shvedova lost to Chinese players Hao-Ching Chan and Yung-Jan Chan 7-5 6-4.

Contact the writer at feedback@ibtimes.com.au, or let us know what you think below.