BAD BOY KYRGIOS AWAITS FEDERER IN STUTTGART SEMIS
Federer inches closer to top spot after reaching semi-finals
STUTTGART: Roger Federer is one win away from reclaiming the world number one ranking after he reached the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Open with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Argentina’s Guido Pella.
Federer skipped the European clay court season to concentrate on retaining his Wimbledon title next month and his plan appears to be working as the 36-year-old was in fine form on Friday.
The Swiss is 100 points behind world number one Rafael Nadal and will replace the Spaniard atop the rankings if he reaches today’s final.
Federer, who has won a record eight Wimbledon titles, was largely untroubled by Pella and lost just one point on serve en route to winning the opening set. He continued his momentum to clinch the victory in 65 minutes.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner will face fourth-seed Nick Kyrgios in the semi-finals after the Australian earned a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Spaniard Feliciano Lopez.
Meanwhile, Canadian Milos Raonic battled to a 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-1) victory against third seed Tomas Berdych, of Czech Republic, to set up a last four encounter against defending champion Lucas Pouille after the Frenchman ousted Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-7(5-7), 6-3.
Meanwhile in Hertogenbosch, second seed Richard Gasquet set up a semi-final showdown with Australia’s Bernard Tomic at the Libema Open after both secured hard-fought victories.
Frenchman Gasquet, twice a semi-finalist at Wimbledon, edged past Barcelona Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (6-4) in a fiercely contested game that lasted two hours and 11 minutes on Friday.
Gasquet’s victory is his best result at Hertogenbosch since his debut at the tournament in 2008.
Australian Tomic, positioned at 181st in the ATP rankings, battled to a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) victory over fourth-seeded Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
The 2011 Wimbledon quarter-finalist improved his impressive record against Verdasco to 6-1 despite the 34-year-old serving 17 aces in the match.
“Once you play qualifying and win a few sets, things open up and you get a good feeling, just like I did at Wimbledon,” Tomic said.
“I like the surface and am very comfortable on it ... I’ve won all of my titles on hard courts, so I’d like to win a title on grass courts.”
Tomic’s compatriot Matthew Ebden eased to a 6-3, 6-3 win over Romanian Marius Copil, and will face Frenchman Jeremy Chardy next.
Chardy came back from being 2-4 down in the third set to outclass American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5) victory. — Reuters