Federer looks to Wimbledon after winning 10th Halle title
HALLE WESTFALEN, Germany: Roger Federer said he was ready for Wimbledon after waltzing past Belgium’s David Goffin in straight sets to win a recordextending 10th title at the ATP event in Halle on Sunday.
Federer, 37, beat Goffin 76 (7/2), 6-1 to secure his 102nd career singles title and remain unbeaten on grass so far this season.
“It’s unbelievable. I never thought when I first played here that I would win 10 titles,” said Federer.
“Often when it went well for me here, I also had successful Wimbledons, so this sets me up nicely.”
The Swiss star is chasing a ninth Wimbledon crown in London next month as he looks to extend and defend his record of 20 career majors.
Long-term rival Rafael Nadal moved to within just two titles of Federer’s record with his 12th French Open triumph earlier this month, while world number one Novak Djokovic is just five short with 15 career majors.
The win at Halle means that Federer will be second seed ahead of Nadal at the AllEngland Club, and the Swiss said that his performances at the tournament would boost his confidence.
“It’s always good at my age to prove myself that I can last five matches in six days and tough ones along the way,” he said.
Federer endured a rough ride in the early rounds in Halle, battling to hard-fought, threeset victories over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Roberto Bautista Agut.
Things got easier in the latter stages as he thrashed Andy Murray’s new doubles partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the semi-finals before dispatching Goffin on Sunday.
Federer held off three break points early in the first set before prevailing in the tiebreaker.
An unsettled looking Goffin then gifted Federer the opening game of the second set with a double fault on break point.
From there, the Swiss never looked back, breaking Goffin twice more on his way to a 10th Halle title.
“I thought David was actually better than me in the first 10 games,” said Federer.
Goffin added: “I thought I started really well, there was great intensity in the first set.
“I had opportunities, but you have to take them against Roger. This guy is pretty good.”
It is the first time Federer has reached double figures at any individual tournament.
He has triumphed eight times at both Wimbledon and the Dubai Open, and has won his home tournament in Basel on nine occasions.
“I’ve never won a tournament 10 times before, so I will remember forever that I did so here in Halle.”
“I didn’t think about how it would feel until it was all over.” — AFP LONDON: Feliciano Lopez became the oldest Queen’s singles champion on Sunday when the 37-year-old Spaniard defeated Frenchman Gilles Simon in a thrilling three-set clash, 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/2).
Lopez, the first wildcard to win the key Wimbledon warm-up event since Pete Sampras in 1999, is also the lowest-ranked player to claim the title at 113 since 108th-ranked Australian Scott Draper in 1998.
While Lopez has had an exhausting week — he still has to play the doubles final with Andy Murray — 34-year-old Simon also played inspired tennis despite all his matches going to three sets.
However, he just fell short of becoming the first Frenchman to win the title.
Lopez was the second 37-yearold to win an ATP tournament on Sunday after Roger Federer claimed his record-extending 10th Halle title.
“I don’t know how I did that,” said Lopez after receiving the trophy.
“The whole match was very exciting. I took the early set but then he (Simon) got better and better. It was tough for me to find a way to win points.
“He was coming up with unbelievable shots and I was a bit desperate.
“I thought the best moment of my career was when I held this trophy in 2017 but it’s not. It’s right now.”
Lopez broke Simon in the first game of the match with his second break point — quite some feat by the Spaniard given the Frenchman had come into the match having saved 30 during the week.
The Spanish veteran looked to be in complete control as he broke Simon again to go 4-1 up, netting the first break point but clinched the second one with a sublime volley. — AFP