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Federer makes Stuttgart final; Returns to #1 and faces Raonic

By Keshav Gopalan

STUTTGART, GERMANY - JUNE 16: Roger Federer of Switzerland poses with tournament director Edwin Weindorfer and ball kids after defeating Nick Kyrgios of Australia and returning to the top position in the ATP global ranking during day 6 of the Mercedes Cup at Tennisclub Weissenhof on June 16, 2018 in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
STUTTGART, GERMANY - JUNE 16: Roger Federer of Switzerland poses with tournament director Edwin Weindorfer and ball kids after defeating Nick Kyrgios of Australia and returning to the top position in the ATP global ranking during day 6 of the Mercedes Cup at Tennisclub Weissenhof on June 16, 2018 in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images) /
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Roger Federer won a tight three-setter against Nick Kyrgios in a high profile match which expectedly went the distance. The dramatic yet comedic match had a lot of light moments, along with pristine shot making and oscillating levels of play.

A chunk of fans expected a Kyrgios victory seeing that Federer looked rusty in his first two victories since his return to the sport in nearly three months. In the end, however, the Swiss prevailed in 3 sets, posting a scorecard of 6-7 (7-2), 6-2, 7-6 (7-5).

The newly crowned world number one now faces Milos Raonic, who’s had a fantastic week himself, not having dropped a set the whole tournament, with a new scalp in the name of the defending champion Lucas Pouille.

Can Federer win his first Stuttgart Title?

Roger Federer has never won a title at Stuttgart. Posting a win-loss of 2-2 in the past two years, the Swiss Maestro has reached his first final at Stuttgart. In the process, he improves his win-loss to 5-2.

Federer now faces Milos Raonic in the final. The pair has met on the grass on four occasions, with Federer leading the head to head at 3-1. Federer won their last meeting at the 2017 Wimbledon Quarterfinals in straight sets, while Raonic won the meeting before in 2016 in 5 tight sets.

Raonic is in good form

Milos Raonic is yet to drop a set this tournament and he’s reached the finals. While that usually doesn’t always indicate that one player is better than the other (as 2015 Wimbledon and US Open will indicate), it does make a compelling argument that Raonic has a slight edge against Federer (maybe). His opponents so far aren’t anything to scoff about.

Federer’s form has been consistently improving

Federer seemed to be rusty in his first two matches. In his match against Kyrgios however, he brought his A game with him. While still not picture perfect, the improvement is laudable considering it’s only his third match back.

Taking all of these things into consideration, it is likely that Federer’s game will further improve in the final. If Federer is to meet an in-form Raonic, it seems likely that Federer will simply raise his game enough to beat him.

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