ROGER HITS A BRILLIANT FOURHAND
Federer win puts him back in Wimbledon’s top four and keeps him clear of Murray, Nadal & Djokovic until semis
ANDY MURRAY cannot face favourite Roger Federer at Wimbledon until the semi-finals after the Swiss superstar guaranteed he will be seeded in the top four.
Australian Open champion Federer has been heavily backed to win his eighth All England title since the world No.1 lost his first match on grass at Queen’s Club on Tuesday.
And yesterday Federer, 35, showed he has rediscovered his touch on the lawns by winning through to the quarter-finals of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle by beating Mischa Zverev 7-6 6-4.
The 18-time Grand Slam winner had lost his first match on the green stuff – and only his second of the year – in Stuttgart last week.
Federer said: “I’m so happy to get through, it was my best game on grass this year.”
With Stan Wawrinka also crashing out in the first round at Queen’s, the seven-time Wimbledon champion will now overtake his fellow Swiss in the SW19 seedings. It will also see the Big Four in men’s tennis – Murray, Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Federer – actually seeded as the top four in a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon 2014.
Federer (right) has beaten Murray both times they have played at The Championships – the 2012 final and the 2015 semi-final, the last time the Scot lost at Wimbledon.
Federer explained why he thought Murray has been off-colour, saying: “Andy was tired after getting to No.1 at the end of last year and then he has been struggling with injuries.
“I think the second part of the season will be really crucial for Andy, and Novak as well. I think it’s going to be really, really interesting.”
Federer, who has won the title in Halle eight times, now faces defending champion Florian Mayer.
World No.9 Kei Nishikori suffered an injury scare when he was forced to retire early in his clash against Karen Khachanov with a hip problem. Khachanov was leading 3-2 when Nishikori called it a day and will take on fellow Russian Andrey Rublev. World No.7 Marin Cilic, who won the title at Queen’s in 2012, needed only 65 minutes to reach the quarterfinals with 6-0 6-4 blitz of American qualifier Stefan Kozlov in London. He will face Donald Young today while 2014 champion Grigor Dimitrov takes on Daniil Medvedev. Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares have reached the semifinals of the men’s doubles after beating Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus 7-6 4-6 10-6. Marcus Willis lost to big-serving Aussie Sam Groth at the Aegon Ilkley Trophy in Yorkshire – but his Wimbledon doubles partner Jay Clarke beat Illya Marchenko. Former British No.1 Laura Robson lost to Belgian Maryna Zanevska 3-6 6-3 6-3.