Practice partners on Monday, Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro squared off for the silverware in Rotterdam today. It wasn't long before Federer turned the final into an educational experience. A clinical Federer issued a tennis tutorial using the entire shot spectrum in racing to a 5-0 lead before dismissing del Potro, 6-1, 6-4, to collect his 71st career title.
Returning to Rotterdam for the first time since he captured the championship seven years ago, the top-seeded Swiss showed why he has such a high ceiling indoors. Federer is 36-1 in ATP indoor events over the past two years.
A pivotal point came in the opening game when Federer fought off two break points, holding with a slick swing volley. Federer, who erased all seven break points, did not face another break point until the fourth game of the second set.
At the outset, Federer backed del Potro up with the depth of his forehand drives then befuddled the big man with the drop shot. A Federer forehand down the line set up a forehand volley winner into the open court for break point. Drawing del Potro forward with a drop shot, Federer threw down a smash to break for 2-0 before consolidating. A love hold stretched the lead to 5-0 before del Potro finally got on the board after 29 minutes of play. Another forehand drop shot winner set up set point and Federer whipped a snazzy backhand winner crosscourt to seal the opening set in 33 minutes.
Festering frustration finally erupted when Del Potro banged a backhand wide on break point in the sixth game of set two, he punched himself in the side of the head as if trying to shake some sense into his shot selection. The world No. 10 earned another break point, but Federer detonated a down-the-middle rally flashing a forehand winner crosscourt and bellowing "Allez!" after saving a second break point, eventually extending his lead to 4-2.
"I never hammer a man's weakness, it might become a strength," Arthur Ashe once said. At times, del Potro played too predictably to Federer's backhand, a shot the Swiss stylist struck with much more conviction today than he did in his three-set semifinal win over Nikolay Davydenko when he muscled that stroke a bit. Today, Federer used his variety effectively, sliding the slice low in forcing the 6'6" Argentine to scrape shots off his shoelaces then banging bigger backhands crosscourt. The 16-time Grand Slam champion played deep down the middle at times to tie up the long-limbed Argentine, who lacked the assertive shotmaking he showed in his 6-3, 6-1 sweep of Tomas Berdych.
Court positioning, fluid movement and shifting speeds and spins were key subjects in Federer's schooling of the 2009 U.S. Open champion. Federer plays closer to the baseline, is quicker around the court and can unsettle del Potro with the unpredictability of his shots — he seldom hit the same spins on successive shots and del Potro, who was beaten in most of the running rallies, began playing closer to the lines but could not close the gap as Federer finished the one hour, 26-minute match with a forehand volley winner successfully scratching a seven-year itch.
—Richard Pagliaro