Federer wins Paris Bercy for the first time

Nov 13, 2011, 16:04 GMT

Paris - Roger Federer filled a minor pothole in his glittering career as he won the Paris Masters for the first time with a resounding 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) defeat of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Sunday.

The victory in just under 90 minutes pulled the 16-time Grand Slam closer to Andy Murray, who sent the Swiss back to fourth in the world a month ago. It will come down to the World Tour Finals from Sunday in London to determine who ends the year on third.

Federer's victory was his 12th win in a row after he claimed the Basle title a week ago.

'I've been dreaming of winning Bercy,' said Federer. 'I couldn't win it when I was number one, I ran into too many tough players.

'But I'm very happy to win it now, I've finally achieved it.' Federer stands 4-2 over Tsonga this season. The Frenchman, fourth in succession to play the home Masters 1000 at the Bercy arena, won his only Masters title at the event three years ago.

The Swiss Federer was playing in his 99th career ATP level final and lifted his 69th title against 30 losses. He was also competing in his 30th Masters 1000 final and has now won 18, one less than category leader Rafael Nadal.

'It's no secret that Roger is the best player in the world and will remain so for a long time,' said Tsonga. 'But the crowd was fantastic in support of me.'

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