FED LOOKING FIRED UP FOR WIN-BLEDON
ROGER FEDERER sounded an ominous Wimbledon warning with a record ninth title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, yesterday.
Defending Wimbledon champion Andy Murray missed the opportunity to get some intense grass-court practice in after crashing out of Queen’s last week in a shock first-round defeat.
But while he is filling in with a couple of exhibition matches at Hurlingham pre-Wimbledon, Federer has already got the feel of silverware back in his hands.
The Swiss master, who is aiming for a record eighth crown at SW19 and 19th Grand Slam title, beat Alexander Zverev 6-1 6-3 in 53 minutes in Halle.
Miss
The 35-year-old has also won four titles this year, a tally matched only by long-time rival Rafa Nadal.
Federer won the Australian Open in January – his first Grand Slam success in five years – despite not playing in the previous six months.
But in May he announced he would miss the French Open and the rest of the clay-court season to concentrate on the grass and hard-court seasons.
And after yesterday’s triumph he said: “It’s great to get off to a good start and then remind yourself that you’ve been playing good tennis all week.
“I’m on cloud nine right now after the ninth win here. It’s a wonderful feeling to win here again because I’m not sure if I’ll ever get a chance again.”
Murray’s brother Jamie yesterday became the first Brit to win the Aegon Championship doubles title at Queen’s since Jeremy Bates in 1990.
The Scot and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares saw off French pair Julien Benneteau and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-2 6-3 to win the trophy.
Spain’s Feliciano Lopez saved one match point before completing a week of upsets at Queen’s by converting his third match point to beat No.4 seed Maric Cilic 4-6 7-6 7-6.
Petra Kvitova won the Aegon Classic in Birmingham after an emotional 4-6 6-3 6-2 win over Ashleigh Barty.
It was only Kvitova’s second tournament after six months out recovering from knife wounds to her hand suffered in a burglary at her home in Czech Republic last December.
She said: “I didn’t expect this in my second tournament after my comeback. So yeah, I think it’s kind of a fairy tale.”