Federer hoping to end 100-title talk in Dubai

After seeing off Philipp Kohlschreiber in the Dubai Tennis Championships first round, Roger Federer trained his sights on ending the wait for his 100th ATP Tour crown.

Federer recovered from a second-set wobble to advance 6-4 3-6 6-1 on Monday, booking a last-16 clash with Fernando Verdasco.

This ATP 500 event represents Federer’s fourth chance to bring up the landmark, having won his 99th in Basel in October, and the Swiss – a seven-time champion in Dubai – hopes to reach his century of titles at the end of this week.

“Hopefully [I will] in a few days’ time but I still have a long way to go and I hope I don’t have to speak about my 100th title for years or weeks or months to come. I hope it’s going to happen here,” he said in his on-court interview.

“I’m part of the field, it’s great, I’m healthy, I’ll give myself the best chance. The draw is tough, but it’s a great event and thanks for coming out and I hope I can win it here in Dubai so we’ll see what happens.

“Thank you Roger!” @rogerfederer always has time for the fans pic.twitter.com/gc5AvZB0Df

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) February 25, 2019
“I’ve had a very successful run here in the past, some good and some also not so good, that’s how sport is.

“Philipp has caused me a lot of trouble today, he played very well in swirly conditions so I’m very relieved and happy to be back in Dubai and hope I can keep going.

“At the end of the day it’s the result that mattered. I have to find a way to win, I haven’t played since the Australian Open so that makes it a little more tricky.”

Federer’s victory saw him extend his head-to-head record over Kohlschreiber to 14-0, and the Swiss was in no mood to offer the German – or anyone – tips on how to defeat him.

“I’m not so sure I would say it anyway, it has to remain a secret or I’ll be out of the game very quickly!” He added.