Federer beats Copil and wins 99th title in Basel

Roger Federer won the ATP tournament in Basel for the ninth time. In the final, the Swiss beat the surprise finalist Marius Copil from Romania 7: 6 (5), 6: 4.

While tournament favorite Federer struggled to make it into the final after a strong match against Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final, qualifier Copil could not be expected to reach the final. The 28-year-old played the best week of his life, beating the number three-seeded Marin Cilic and in the semifinals the two listed Alexander Zverev.

And in the final, there was not much sense of nerves in the away game against Federer in the St. Jakobshalle. Copil, number 93 in the world, broke early to make it 2-1 and did not let Federer's 3-3 equalizer upset him. In the tiebreak, however, it was the 20-time Major Champ, who took the win with controlled offensive play.

In the second set a similar game: Copil took his third break ball in the first serve of the Swiss and went with 3: 0 and 4: 1 in the lead. Federer made the rebreak to 3: 4. Federer then fended off a break ball and turned his first match point. He has been undefeated in Basel since 20 matches.

After successfully defending his title at the Swiss Indoors, this is the ninth tournament win on the spot for Federer and the 99th in his professional career. Federer remains third in the world rankings.

The reward for Copil after his Basel insanity week: Rank 60 in the new ranking - a career high, after he had taken his highest placing in February after his first ATP finals in Sofia in 73th place.