Federer beats Kudla to reach 12th Halle decider
>> HALLE WESTFALEN: Roger Federer booked his 12th career final at the ATP Halle grass tournament yesterday, beating qualifier Denis Kudla 7-6 (7/1), 7-5.
The Swiss needs to win the title today — it would be his 10th at the event — to remain world No.1 heading into Wimbledon.
He will face either Spanish fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut or Croatian Borna Coric.
Federer’s win was his 20th in a row on grass, dating to June, 2017.
Federer needed just under 90 minutes to get the job done and hold off the 109th-ranked Kulda, who had not lost a set going into the semi-final.
Nine-time Halle champion Federer is back in a familiar spot in Halle, which models its Centre Court after its namesake at the All England club, as he works to fine-tune with a Wimbledon title defence starting a week from Monday.
The 36-year-old has reached the final four in each of his last 14 Halle appearances.
MAURESMO FRANCE CAPTAIN
Former world No.1 Amelie Mauresmo yesterday became the first woman appointed to captain France’s Davis Cup team.
Mauresmo succeeds Yannick Noah next year, the French tennis federation (FFT) announced.
In contrast, Julien Benneteau, who retires after the US Open in September, will take the reins of France’s side in the women’s equivalent the Fed Cup.
Mauresmo, who turns 39 on July 5, was captain of the Fed Cup team in 2015 and 2016, and led them from the second division to the final of the competition, which they lost to the Czech Republic in Strasbourg.
At a press conference to unveil the two captains, FFT president Bernard Giudicelli hailed a “completely groundbreaking choice” of putting “a woman in charge of French men’s tennis.”
Mauresmo is unique among French players of the modern era. She is the only one to be ranked No.1 in the world (for 39 weeks in 2004 and 2006). She also won two majors — the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006 — as well as the Fed Cup, in 2003.