Roger Federer of Switzerland poses with the trophy and his new Mercedes-Benz CLS 450 4MATIC Coupe after the singles final against Milos Raonic of Canada at ATP Mercedes Cup tennis tournament in Stuttgart, Germany on June 17, 2018. Roger Federer won 2-0 to claim the title. (Xinhua/Philippe Ruiz)
BERLIN, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Roger Federer has reaped his 98th ATP Tour title after easing past Canadian Milos Raonic in two sets in the Stuttgart Cup final on Sunday.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion returned from a two-and-a-half months break and overcame Raonic 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to seal his 18th grass-court title in 1 hour and 18 minutes.
Federer smoothed the way for the first set after breaking the third game with a backhand winner.
The second set remained evenly balanced, as Raonic and Federer were able to hold their serves. However, Federer continued faultless and edged Raonic 7-3 in the tie-break.
"I made the crucial points and I am happy that I was able to win this tournament for the first time in my third attempt," Federer said.
The Swiss aims to maintain his world No. 1 ranking but will need to defend his title in Halle next week.