Federer's first title for 2008

Roger Federer was literally handed his first title of the year when Nikolay Davydenko retired due to an injury to his left leg during the second set of their match in the finals of the Estoril Open.

The Swiss had several chances to break the fourth-ranked Russian's serve in the first set but failed to convert any. He even fought to save a set point as he serving to stay in the set at 5-6. Fortunately, the top seed eventually prevailed via a tiebreak which he initially led at 5-0 but managed to win at 7-5.

In the second set, Davydenko broke Federer's serve right off and was leading 2-1 when he decided that it was not wise to continue with his injury--especially considering that the first Masters Series on clay in Monte Carlo was scheduled to commence the very next day.

While this was an unusual way to win a title for Federer, he expressed satisfaction with his overall performance in the tournament and felt he was ready going into the Monte Carlo Masters Series.
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