Third seeded Roger Federer won his first crown in a close two-setter against Gilles Simon at the finals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters in China on Sunday.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion was broken by the Frenchman at the very first game of the first set but Federer answered back with his own. Both held on to their serves until they reach a tie-break at 6-all.

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In the tie-break, both players had a couple of mini-breaks to take the set but the 33-year-old Swiss edged Simon to take the set 8-6.

It was a seesaw battle in the second set as both players would not let up on their serves but at 6-5, with Simon leading, the 29-year-old Nice native had two chances to take the set but Federer held serve to take the set into another tie-break.

The second tie-break was a bit simpler for Federer as he delivered a couple of forehand smashes while going to the net and a final forehand cross court that Simon returned into the net which prompted the Swiss to roar out loud.

The final score was 7(8)-6(6) 7(7)-6(2) which lasted an hour and 52 minutes.

"To win the biggest tournament in Asia is a treat," Federer said. "I got lucky to come through the first round after saving five match points. It's been a dream week."

With the win, plus another Masters 1000 tournament title in Cincinnati last August, Federer will move to World No. 2 starting Monday.

Federer also won two WTA tournaments in Dubai and Germany, and has appeared in five finals including the Wimbledon Championships in London.

Next up for Federer is the Swiss Indoors, an ATP 500 series, slated to start Oct. 20 and the last Masters 1000 tournament of the year, the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris.

Federer will also compete in the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London where he along with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka are already qualified.

TagsRoger Federer, Gilles Simon, Novak Djokovic, rafael nadal, Stan Wawrinka