TENNIS – Roger Federer beat Ernests Gulbis 6-3 7-5 to get through to the quarterfinal of the Gerry Weber Open. Diego Sampaolo
After saving 2 break points in the 3rd game Federer converted his 2nd break point chance in the 6th game of the opening set for a 4-2 lead. He dropped just one point in his next two service games en route to winning the set with 6-3 in just 27 minutes.
In a tougher second set Federer made consecutive double faults but held his serve for 4-4. He earned three break points at 5-5. Gulbis saved the first two break points but dropped his serve for 5-6 after committing a double fault at 30-40. Federer served out for the match for 7-5. Federer has reached the quarterfinal in Halle for the 13th time in 13 appearances. This is surely one of his favourite events having won 7 titles here.
Federer will face Florian Mayer in the quarterfinals. The Swiss star won all 5 of their previous matches. Mayer beat Steve Johnson 6-3 7-6(4). Mayer fought back from 0-3 in the 1st set by reeling off 6 consecutive games to win 6-3. After trading breaks in the 2nd set, they remained on serve forcing a tie-breaker where Mayer won 7-4 points.
Tomas Berdych, winner at Halle in 2007, eased past Borna Coric 6-3 6-2. The Czech player went down 0-30 on his serve but avoided the risk of a break by hitting two service winners. Berdych broke serve in the 4th game and held his next service games to close out in the 9th game with 6-3. Coric saved a break point at the start of 2nd set but Berdych eventually broke serve soon afterwards when Coric made yet another unforced error. Berdych got a double break in the next game before holding his next three service games, 6-3 6-2.
Ivo Karlovic fought back from a set down to edge Alexander Zverev 6-7(5) 6-3 6-3. The 1st set went on serve until the tie-break where Zverev got the mini-break and the set all on the same point. Karlovic broke serve three times to win the next two sets with a 6-7 6-3 6-3.
Anderson beats Wawrinka in the second round at Queen’s
Kevin Anderson battled past this year’s Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka 7-6(4) 7-6(11) in the 2nd round of the Aegon Championships at the Queen’s Club in London. The Swiss player lost his first match since his winning run in Paris two weeks ago.
Anderson held a break point in the 1st game of the match whereas Wawrinka held two set points at 6-5. However, neither converted on these opportunities. Yet Anderson took the win in the tie-break of the first set with 7-4.
Wawrinka saved a break point when he was down 2-3 in the 2nd set and neither player was again able to break serve. Thus, the match came down to the tiebreaker. Wawrinka saved 5 match points before sending a forehand wide on his lone set point. Anderson got the decisive mini-break for 12-11 and closed out the match on his 6th match point with his 22nd ace. Anderson scored his 4th consecutive win against Wawrinka including the three wins from part .
Anderson will face Guillermo Garcia Lopez who knocked out in straight sets, 6-4 7-6(4) Alexsandr Dolgopolov the man responsible for dismissing Rafael Nadal in the previous round.
“I felt I was serving really well. Grass definitely helps a little bit especially on some of the wide serves. I felt a very good serving performance. I just kept patient throughout. I found I was having quite a few chances on his serve. tt was a terrific match for me. He is a terrific player so it means a lot to me and to do on such a great makes it extra special. I feel like I play good tennis against him. I can take a lot of confidence from that and take that same sort of belief against some of the other top guys”, said Anderson
Despite his defeat, Wawrinka was happy with his match. “I did one big mistake. I think he is playing really well. He was going for his shots and going for the line without really a plan. Just going and putting a lot of pressure”, said Wawrinka
Giles Simon beat Thannasi Kokkinakis 6-4 6-2. The Frenchman converted on 4/6 of his break points
Milos Raonic, who is playing his first event after undergoing surgery to correct a nerve in his right foot, edged passed Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-7(5) 6-1. Raonic broke serve in the opening game of the 1st set and quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead en route to winning the set 6-4. Gasquet won the 2nd set tie-break to draw level in the match. Raining took complete charge of the decisive set as he soon up 4-0 before taking it 6-1.
