Once a ball boy, always a ball boy. Roger Federer has again come up with the goods at his hometown event in Basel: pizzas. The 36-year-old won the Swiss Indoors Basel for the eighth time on Sunday with a three-set triumph over Juan Martin del Potro.
As he had done in each of the 11 years he has made the final, Federer threw a traditional post-match pizza party for all the ball boys and girls. It’s a nod to the two years he gathered balls in Basel, where he says he remembers riding a bike from his house to the tournament venue as an 11-year-old. Federer was a ball boy for the final between Michael Stich and Stefan Edberg in 1993.
Federer also presented the ball kids with a medal on court soon after defeating Del Potro to claim his 95th career trophy. In edging past Ivan Lendl’s 94, Federer is now alone in second place on the all-time titles list, led by Jimmy Connors on 109.
However, Federer’s chances of snatching the world No 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal before the end of the season are all but over as the Swiss pulled out of next week’s Paris Masters citing a back injury. Instead he plans to be fit for next month’s ATP Finals in London.
Popular Stories
More
Swiss Politics
Why cars still reign supreme in ‘rail-nation’ Switzerland
Swiss government adopts three-pronged approach to end violence against women
This content was published on
Over the next few years, the federal government intends to take action against gender-based violence in three main areas.
Uri voters clear path for hotel and marina complex in central Switzerland
This content was published on
Voters in canton Uri in central Switzerland have rejected a Green Party initiative aimed at regulating the development of the lakeside site in Isleten.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Almost one in two Swiss residents considered overweight
This content was published on
The survey from the Federal Health Office and the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, entitled menuCH, found that 54% of respondents had a normal body mass index. Meanwhile, 44% are considered overweight and 2% – mostly women – are underweight. The body mass index is a standard measure of body fat percentage based on…
The complete history of every No. 1 male tennis player
This content was published on
Grand slam titles, ATP points, ATP rankings… Experts like to use all kinds of different metrics to rate tennis players. Roger Federer is frequently called the greatest tennis player since the start of the Open era in 1968. But how does he compare with other legends? Are we entering a new era of men’s tennis?…
This content was published on
It was all Roger Federer in the Swiss news media after his historic win at Wimbledon – and fans can look forward to seeing him keep playing.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.