Federer credits mental strength for win at Masters Cup tennis

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2006

SHANGHAI (AFP) — World number one Roger Federer credited a mental overhaul for his success after surviving an early scare at the Masters Cup. Federer lost the first set against defending champion David Nalbandian but refused to hit the panic button, instead working on drawing the Argentine into the net.

The Swiss romped through the second two sets to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in less than 90 minutes on Sunday. "Probably still a couple of years ago I would think, 'Oh, I don't know what to do, I don't have the key'," he said afterwards. "Maybe from the baseline I'm not good enough, my serve is not powerful enough and so forth. "Through my mental and physical strength I was able to overcome these problems. Now I just hang in there and hope for the best. "It's really been the best...