A resurgent Roger Federer has qualified for a record 13th consecutive ATP World Tour Finals in comfortable fashion, in marked contrast to 2013 when he squeezed in the week before the end-of-season tournament in London.
Federer, 33, claimed his sixth Western and Southern Open title in Cincinnati on Sunday with victory over Spain’s David Ferrer, the last key tune-up event for the US Open.
The result was good enough for him to become the third man to qualify for the eight-player event, behind Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, the world numbers one and two.
“It’s always one of the big goals I set myself at the beginning of the season,” Federer said.
“Getting a chance to win an extra trophy at the end of the season – which is so prestigious – is a great feeling.”
The 17-times grand slam champion battled in 2013, winning just one title, suffering a shock second-round exit at Wimbledon and dropping outside the world top four for the first time in a decade.
Now back at number three, he has confounded those who said his career was coming to an end, going down in five sets to Djo-kovic in the Wimbledon final and winning three titles.