ROGER FEDERER NEWS
June 24, 2017 -- Halle, Germany
Roger took on up and coming ATP #NextGen player today in the semifinals today at the Gerry Weber Open.
The 21-year-old Russian challenged the Swiss star as both players exchanged breaks and swung freely. But Roger's experience edged the 38th ranked player and he pulled out a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory to land him in the finals tomorrow.
“I thought it was extremely close, especially that second set... I'm still just very happy how I was able to close it out in the 'breaker,” he said.
Reaching his 11th final in Halle, Roger has the chance to win his 9th title and will play Alexander Zverev in the finals. Last year, Federer lost to Zverev in the semifinals but then beat the German last year in Rome. Roger has yet to drop a set in Halle this week and has improved to 23-2 for the year.
June 23, 2017 -- Halle, Germany
In a matchup against the Gerry Weber defending champion, Roger looked calm and cool in his quarterfinal match today.
Taking on Florian Mayer, the Swiss star played solid and came away with a 6-3, 6-4 victory. His came away with 11 aces and 32 winners while feeling confident with his level of play.
“It was important to be aggressive off the baseline and make him feel my variation and the power I can bring to the court,” Roger said. “And then having good footwork, to see the short ball, the floater, where I can come in and knock it off with a volley. I think I did it very well. I thought I was very calm out there, even in difficult moments. I was calm serving out the first and second sets. Those are always signs for me that things are slowly starting to fall into place nicely.”
This win sends him into the semifinals to next face the young up and comer, Karen Khachanov.
June 22, 2017 -- Halle, Germany
In the second round of the Gerry Weber Open today, Roger faced Mischa Zverev -- the tricky, German grass-court specialist. The first set was competitive with both players serving well and holding. Fed played smart and aggressive to take the first set in a tiebreaker. He stepped up his game in the second set and forced the only break of the match landing the Swiss star with a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win. Roger has never lost to Mischa Zverev and now is 4-0 against he German veteran.
The last time the two played in Halle was 2013. That year, Roger earned a double bagel win over the German before going on to win the title. Today was much more competitive as Zverev has just broken into the top 30 on the ATP Tour and is at the height of his career.
“It was totally different. He started serving great, which put me under pressure as I wasn’t getting many looks,” he said. “It was important to stay calm after missing chances to win the set at 5-4. And it’s important to win ‘breakers. They are the sets you need to win to win tournaments. It felt like a close ‘breaker that could have gone either way. After I got that in the bag I was really able to start to relax and really play and feel the way I want to feel out there. That’s the first time I’ve felt like that since Miami, so that’s a good sign looking ahead.”
Next up for Roger is the quarterfinals where he will face Florian Mayer, who upset the sixth seed, Lucas Pouille.
June 20, 2017 -- Halle, Germany
Roger took to the courts today at the Gerry Weber Open. Facing lucky loser, Yuichi Sugita, the Swiss star looked to be back in fine form as he drilled winners from all areas of the court.
The number one seed needed less than an hour to dispose of the Japanese player beating him 6-3, 6-1. This win marks Roger's 1,100th match win as he contends for his 9th title in Halle. Next up for Roger will be German veteran, Mischa Zverev.
“I played some good tennis, some nice points. I played the way I wanted to play: aggressive, took charge from the baseline and served well. Overall, I’m very happy,” he said.
June 14, 2017 -- Stuttgart, Germany
Roger made his return to the ATP Tour in the Mercedes Cup this week. In his first match back, he played an always dangerous veteran, Tommy Haas. Haas ended up pushing the match to 3 sets winning 2-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4.
This is only Roger's second loss of the year and his first match since the beginning of April after winning the Miami Open.
"It wasn’t all bad, not at all. There were definitely some good moments, but I definitely was not as sharp as I was hoping to be in maybe the big moments, or the moment when I had the lead and where I feel I should have been cruising from that moment on. I definitely made some crucial mistakes and judgment errors. Tommy definitely played well when he had to. He hung around and was able to push me in the second set. In the third set I couldn’t get up to the level I wanted. I should have somehow broken him once, but I wasn’t able to do that.”
Roger is scheduled to play next week in Halle, Germany to continue his preparation for Wimbledon.
