Federer, the record 20-time Grand Slam winner, officially reclaims No 1 ranking he last held in October 2012 on Monday
Monday 19 February 2018 16:16, UK
Roger Federer celebrated his return to the top of the world rankings by winning the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Sunday, and declared it "very special".
The 36-year-old needed just 55 minutes to see off ailing Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in a one-sided encounter.
The Swiss, who earlier this week confirmed his return to the top of the ATP world rankings, breezed past Dimitrov 6-2 6-2 on the way to his 97th tour-level trophy.
Federer told the official ATP World Tour website: "It's definitely one of those weeks I will never forget in my life. It's unbelievable to get my 97th title and get back to world No 1. It's very special.
"I was expecting it to be tough today. Grigor is a great player and a great athlete and he's been playing super well in recent months.
"I thought that this wasn't going to be the result, but he looked to be struggling a bit and I never looked back. I was able to execute my tennis the way I wanted to. I'm very happy."
Federer, who had previously won in the Dutch city in 2005 and 2012, has played two tournaments this year and won both - the other being January's Australian Open which he won for the sixth time.
"I saved the best for last," added Federer. "I had a great first match and a great last match. In between it was a battle, it was nerve-wracking getting back to No 1. But I was able to manage my nerves and the expectations.
"I was able to handle that pressure, today I played great from the beginning."
Federer will now decide within a few days whether or not to travel to Dubai for the ATP event starting a week from Monday.
He has a home and training base in the UAE and has won the hardcourt tournament seven times.
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