World No. 5 Federer fi ne- tunes Wimbledon assault in Halle

Roger Federer is in action at Halle this week as the Swiss legend puts the fi nishing touches to his assault on an eighth Wimbledon title.

Federer, who made his comeback after skipping the entire clay- court season at Stuttgart last week, faces Lu Yen- hsun, Chinese Taipei’s world No. 73 on Tuesday.

The ring- rusty 18- time Grand Slam winner was knocked out in the fi rst round in Stuttgart by 39- year- old Tommy Haas.

Haas, a former world No. 2 but now down at No. 302, won 2- 6, 7- 6 ( 10/ 8), 6- 4 for just his fourth victory in 17 meetings against his close friend.

It was just the second defeat of 2017 for the 35- year- old Federer, who claimed the Australian Open for his 18th major in January.

Federer, aiming for a ninth title at Halle, has won all three of his match- ups against Lu.

He turns up in the Westfalen town after recharging his batteries at home in Switzerland.

“I’ve got high hopes of playing better here than in Stuttgart last week,” the world No. 5 said, adding that he was “in 100 percent form for the grass season.”

The 35- year- old followed up his Australian Open triumph with wins at Indian Wells and Miami, before taking a twoand- a- half month timeout to ensure he was fi t and fresh for Wimbledon.

If he gets past Lu, Federer could face Mischa Zverev in the second round.

Zverev’s 20- year- old younger brother Alexander, German tennis’ latest prodigy and world No. 12, opens his tournament against Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori, beaten in the French Open quarterfi nals by eventual winner Rafael Nadal, opens against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

France’s Lucas Pouille arrives in Halle hot foot from his success on the grass at Stuttgart on Sunday where he came from behind to beat Spain’s Feliciano Lopez 4- 6, 7- 6 ( 7/ 5), 6- 4.

The 23- year- old, who reached the Wimbledon quarterfi nals last season, plays local hope Jan- Lennard Struff , the German he beat in the fi rst round last week.