Federer rules Halle for eighth time with win over Seppi

Roger Federer further cemented himself as the king of grass on Sunday at the Gerry Weber Open, capturing an unprecedented eighth Halle title and 15th overall crown on the surface.

The World No. 2 overcame a strong test from Andreas Seppi to prevail 7-6(1), 6-4, claiming their third ATP Head to Head meeting of the year. Federer improved to 12-1 against the Italian, firing 14 aces and 36 winners, while staving off all four break points faced.

A day after earning his 50th match win in Halle, Federer became just the third player in the Open Era to claim at least eight titles in a single tournament, joining Rafael Nadal and Guillermo Vilas. Nadal has won nine times at Roland Garros and eight in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, while Vilas emerged victorious on eight occasions in his home capital of Buenos Aires.

"It is a special moment for me, to win here for the eighth time. I hope this is a good omen for Wimbledon," the 17-times grand slam winner said. "I have always enjoyed amazing support here all these year. I always enjoy it here and it is one of my favourite events.

"2013 was difficult, 2014 was better and now 2015 after this week is even better and I hope I can keep it up," he said with Wimbledon starting on June 29.

"I think that I did very well here in the tie-breaks," said Federer. "I served well which you have to on the grass. I was able to mix it up, so I created a good pattern going into the tie-break. My opponent wouldn’t quite know where it’s going to go and if he knew where it was going to go it was going to be tough for him to defend. I think I did a really nice job this week on these situations.

"I think one big secret on grass is when to hit which shot and playing the score the right way. You might be playing perfect but then in one moment you take a bad decision and grass makes you pay for it all. So, this week has been great if I look at the whole thing. I don’t think I got broken anymore the last four matches I played. The first match was extremely close but I won all the tie-breaks this week, which gives obviously big confidence knowing that in the crucial moments my game was right there."

Federer was clutch throughout the one-hour and 48-minute affair, saving a pair of set points at 5-4 in the first, before racing through the ensuing tie-break. A slice approach and lunge volley gave him a 2-0 lead and he would secure the opener after Seppi netted a double fault. It was the top seed's sixth straight tie-break won this week and he would press for a break in the eighth game of the second set, but Seppi held after 10 minutes. The Italian would not be as fortunate in his next service game, and with the added pressure of serving to stay in the match, he fell behind 15/40 and was unable to recover.

One of 13 titlists aged 30 and over in 2015, Federer brings home €381,760 and 500 ATP Ranking points. He improved to 86-44 in tour-level finals and is now eight titles behind Ivan Lendl for second on the Open Era list.

Seppi, meanwhile, was bidding to notch his fourth ATP World Tour title and first since hoisting the trophy in Moscow 2012. The 31-year-old Italian drops to 1-2 in grass-court finals, having previously split consecutive title matches on the lawns of Eastbourne in 2011 (d. Tipsarevic) and '12 (l. to Roddick).

"It was a fantastic week for me," said Seppi. "A first final in a 500 tournament. I had some chances in the first set with two set points but I can be happy with the level I played and congrats to Roger for winning another title here in Halle. In the important moments he stepped up his serve, played better at the decisive moments and deserved to win in the end."

Date: 21st June 2015, Source: ATP and Reuters

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Federer reaches his 10th Halle final

Roger Federer will play for his eighth Gerry Weber Open title after withstanding 20 aces to edge Ivo Karlovic 7-6(3), 7-6(4) Saturday in Halle.

The top seed owns the most grass-court titles in the Open Era and will look for his 15^th crown on the lawns when he faces Andreas Seppi in Sunday’s final at this newly reclassified ATP World Tour 500 tournament.

Federer bided his time and was rewarded as he took his few opportunities to beat Karlovic in 88 minutes, improving to a 13-1 standing in their ATP Head to Head. The Swiss won just five points on Karlovic’s serve in the first set, but nailed a backhand passing shot on a second serve return in the seventh point of the tie-break and reeled off the final four points of the set.

Federer saved the only break point of the match in the fourth game of the second set as the match inevitably progressed to another tie-break. The Basel native squandered his initial mini-break advantage, but reclaimed the lead at 5-4 as Karlovic netted a backhand volley and did not lose another point.

"It comes down to a shot here or there," said Federer. "We are both mentally prepared. We’ve played so many breakers against one another and I think he was better in the first set, I was better in the breaker. I stayed calm. And in the second set probably I was better throughout the set and he was maybe a bit better in the breaker. Maybe I got a little bit lucky in the breaker.

“So, it was a tough match. I knew that going in. I was struggling to read his serve in the first set, but handled it better in the second set. It was tough. It’s just a bit of a grind and physically it’s like easy, mentally rough.”

Karlovic’s 20 aces took his tally for the week to 114; he hit an ATP World Tour (best-of-three) record 45 aces in his quarter-final win over Tomas Berdych. The 36-year-old Croat did not lose serve all week in 48 games.

It is the seventh time in his career that Federer has registered 50 match wins at a tour-level event. The 33 year old is through to his 10^th final in Halle, with his only defeats coming in 2012 against Tommy Haas and 2010 against Lleyton Hewitt.

Federer has a 33-6 match record on the season and is chasing his fourth title of the campaign to add to trophies in Brisbane (d. Raonic), Dubai (d. Djokovic) and Istanbul (d. Cuevas).

Seppi advanced to the final after Kei Nishikori retired down 1-4 in the first set after 14 minutes due to a calf injury.

The Swiss leads his ATP Head to Head series with Seppi 11-1. The Italian's lone win against Federer came in January when he won in four sets in the third round of the Australian Open.

Into his eighth ATP World Tour final, the 31-year-old World No. 45 looks to add to his three tour-level titles: Moscow (2012), Belgrade (2012) and Eastbourne (2011).

“I played him many times. For some time, we also practiced quite often. I think he hits the ball very well on both sides, especially cross court and then he can go down the line,” said Federer of the Italian.

“I think that's what makes him a tough player. I think fitness-wise he's very fit, you know, he won't go away.

“He doesn't have the best second serve but I think he has improved that over time. And because he hits the ball quite flat it actually helps him on the grass.”

Date: 20th June 2015, Source: ATP and AFP

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Federer blitzes Mayer in Halle

Roger Federer raced into the Gerry Weber Open semi-finals Friday after dismissing German Florian Mayer 6-0, 7-6(1) in 64 minutes. Chasing a record eighth Halle title, Federer is unlikely to expect any further bagel sets when he meets big-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic, who fired a record 45 aces in his three-set quarter-final win over Tomas Berdych.

Karlovic, who came into this week holding an ATP-equal-best 94 percent of service games in 2015, pushed Federer to three sets when they last met in Basel in 2014. The 6’ 11” Karlovic has extended Federer to 16 tie-breaks in the 33 sets they have contested throughout their ATP Head to Head rivalry, which the Swiss leads 12-1.


In the first set against Mayer, Federer struck 14 winners and won all six points on the German’s second serve. It was the World No. 2’s fifth career bagel in Halle, the last one coming in a 6-0, 6-0 win over Mischa Zverev in the quarter-finals in 2013.

“I’m happy this week is going well. This was clearly a total different opponent to the first two. I got more chances off his second serve, I was able to get into rallies easier and I had a good serving day. I thought I played very well today,” offered Federer.


The crafty Mayer did mount a stiff challenge in the second set. The 31 year-old, who entered Halle on a protected ranking, was once 18th in the world. He is comfortable on grass, having compiled a 27-15 record in Tour-level matches on the surface. Mayer saved two break points to push the second set to a tie-break, but Federer found his range and took it seven points to one.

“I think Florian brings a different challenge to the table because of his shot-making,” revealed Federer. “He plays a different type of shots than other players do and I think I quite enjoyed that challenge. I had to focus very hard at the end to play a good breaker.

“The important thing, however, is that Florian has found back to the Tour after his injury and is really improving,” the winner praised his opponent after the match.

A completely different test awaits Federer in the semi-finals in the form of the huge-serving Karlovic.

Date: 19th June 2015, Source: ATP

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Federer defeats Gulbis to reach Halle QFs

Roger Federer and Ernests Gulbis had gone the distance in splitting their previous four ATP Head to Head meetings, including a five-set encounter won by the Latvian last year at Roland Garros.

On Wednesday at the Gerry Weber Open, Federer avenged that loss with their first straight-sets result. The top seed and seven-time Halle champion defeated his 86th-ranked opponent 6-3, 7-5.

“It is a grass-court match and he’s got a big serve, so regardless of what his level is, he’s always going to be tough for himself and for the opponent,” said Federer. “I served well when I had to and I’m pleased about the overall performance today.

“He’s got potential for the Top 10. He needs to be more confident in the difficult phases of a match,” Federer said about Gulbis.

After taking the opening set in 27 minutes with one break of serve, Federer brought up triple break point at 5-all in the second. Gulbis saved the first two, but double-faulted on the third.

Asked to assess his early grass-court form and whether he could compete in two week's time with Novak Djokovic, whom he labelled the favourite for Wimbledon, Federer joked, “Yes, because I’ve won two matches on grass and he hasn’t won any yet (laughs).

“Kidding aside, yes, I hope to be competitive,” he continued. “I hope I’m going to be in good shape. I hope we play against each other. That probably means we are in the final both of us and we’re both equally pleased with the tournament. But we know how long that road is to get there. I think our games both work very well on grass.

“I believe with the year he had and the Wimbledon last year, he’s going to be favourite, he’s going to be playing very well again. Anything else will be quite surprising.”

The 33-year-old Swiss will first look to win his 15th grass-court title this week at this newly reclassified ATP World Tour 500 tournament.

Federer had come within two points of defeat in his Halle opener against 2011 champion Philipp Kohlschreiber on Monday, but reeled off three straight points to close the third set tie-break.

He will look to extend his Halle winning streak to 10 straight matches when he next faces German Florian Mayer. Federer has a 5-0 ATP Head to Head record against Mayer, including a pair of victories in Halle.

Date: 17th June 2015, Source: ATP

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Federer fights past Kohlschreiber in Halle

Roger Federer prevailed against top German Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(8), 3-6, 7-6(5) in a tricky first-round match between former Gerry Weber Open champions, Monday evening in Halle.

In their fourth meeting at this German grass-court tournament, Federer saved two set points in the opening set tie-break before capitalising on his second set point opportunity.

Kohlschreiber countered to take just his second set off the Swiss in nine meetings. He saved two match points in the tenth game of the third set and took the mini-break to go up 3-2 in the decisive tie-break, but seven-time champion Federer came back strong, winning the final three points to clinch the victory after two hours and 11 minutes.

“Of course, it’s not a nice draw but you have to take it how it comes,” said Kohlschreiber. “I had a great plan in my mind how to play against him. I mentioned before that his first grass court match could be a little bit tricky. I had my chances but I think at the end we both played very good level on both sides, in the crucial moments, he made the better decisions in this case.”

One interesting moment in the match came when Federer lost his footing after hitting a serve. He fell to the court but managed to get a racquet on the Kohlschreiber return while sitting on the ground to remain in the point.

“I’m very relieved,” said Federer after the match. “Philipp served at 5-4 in the third set tie-break. It’s rough on grass, it takes two serves and maybe that’s it.

“I wasted two match points at 5-4, 15/40 and then saved a break point at five-all, so it was a roller-coaster ride in the end. My nerves are still going a bit crazy right now,” laughed the World No. 2.

“Philipp deserved winning, too. I first thought that I wasn't in luck today. But of course now I'm really happy that I made it through and I can go for another title. It would have been really bitter to have to fly back home today,” Federer said at being able to carry on with his mission title-holding.

“I can't really say that I didn't do my best. We both played a good match. And when we both are in top form he is the better player.

“I know him well, we practice together, we know each other's game,” Federer said. “The first round on grass is always difficult and complicated.”

Date: 15th June 2015, Source: ATP and Gerry Weber Open

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Federer aiming for eighth Halle title

Roger Federer smiles now, but there was a time when he never thought he’d play well on grass.

Speaking ahead of the Gerry Weber Open, Federer admitted, "I never thought that I could ever play so well in my career on grass. It was always a dream to play such good tennis on grass or even be able to play on a grass court.

“Where I grew up in Münchenstein, Switzerland, there was only sand, carpet or dirt. So a grass court was always a dream.”

The Swiss has the best winning percentage on grass courts since 1973, according to the ATP Performance Zone. He has won 14 grass court titles – seven at Wimbledon, and the same number in Halle, where this week he is looking forward to stepping up his grass-court preparations.

“Of course at this stage of my career I want to have the perfect preparation for Wimbledon,” said Federer. “That means a victory here. I want to defend the title in a tough field of competitors. That's exactly what I need right now.

In a repeat of the 2008 final, Federer opens his campaign against Philipp Kohlschreiber Monday evening.

Commenting on the first-round match with his friend and many-times training pal Philipp Kohlschreiber Federer said: “It's a difficult hurdle for both of us but it is also nice to play against one onother. It's going to be a good test. If I get through that I know that I'm in real good form and can win the tournament”, the Swiss superstar says, “because Phillipp is one of the best players on lawn in the world momentarily.”

“I've been playing great for the last 12 months,” he said. “I had the feeling that everything went well after I played at Halle last year, except in Australia where it didn't go so well. But I was confident everywhere else, so I hope I can play well here.”

As the Gerry Weber Open has joined the ATP 500 and with lots of highly skilled participants Federer is focussing on his role as a single player this year.

“In this tournament you have to win the five matches to grab the title. And that's what I'm focussing on.” His family is not with him this year in Halle - but: "perhaps they'll join me later” he says.

Federer has compiled a 29-6 record on the year, including three ATP World Tour titles at Brisbane (d. Raonic), Dubai (d. Djokovic) and Istanbul (d. Cuevas).

Date: 15th June 2015, Source: ATP and Gerry Weber Open

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