Roger Federer says regaining the No. 1 ranking was important and he would like to hold the top spot for a good deal longer. Federer swept No. 2 Novak Djokovic, 6-0, 7-6 to win Cincinnati and will take a nearly 900-point lead into the U.S. Open, which means its likely that he will retain the top spot even after it concludes. Djokovic is defending 2000 points from winning the 2011 U.S. Open crown, and Federer, who has lost to Djokovic in the last two U.S. Opens, is only defending 720.
"For me to come back to world No. 1 was obviously a goal I always had," said Federer, who regained the top spot after Wimbledon. "When you lose it you want it back right away. Then when three months go by, six months go by, and you understand how much more difficult it is to get back there. You know it's going to take one or two slams or at least between five and ten tournament victories. You need the World Tour Finals in it and you need to win the big tournaments and beat the other Top 5, Top-10 players on a regular basis. If you don't do all those things, you're probably not going to be back to world No. 1. You want to stay strong mentally.
"[It] takes a lot of hard work, dedication, sacrifice, the traveling from everyone involved. And so when you get there it's a great feeling, because doesn't happen by chance… I have to look at the long term, and I would like to stay around for as long as I can. For that reason I have to pace myself at times."