The headlining match of the day was last on Stadion, between 1st seed Roger Federer and the No. 29 ranked German Mischa Zverev. The match was very high quality, both players net rushing and providing entertaining grass court tennis. There was a funny moment in the first set when Federer thought he hit a winner so he let out a shout resembling a “come on”, but Zverev lobbed the ball back. It was a set point for Federer, and the point was replayed. Federer had several break/set points at 5-4, but Zverev prevailed, and it almost seemed like he would reciprocate as Federer went down 15-30 on his serve. The first set went into a tiebreak and after trading a mini-break each, Zverev was serving at 4-5. Federer powered through the two points and took the first set in a tiebreak, 7-4. Both players focused on their service games in the second sets, with no games going to deuce. In typical Federer fashion, the Swiss was conserving energy and waiting for Mischa Zverev to make the mistake. Federer got his chance at 4-4, broke serve, and won the match 7-6(4) 6-4. The legendary Swiss beat Mischa Zverev 6-0 6-0 in 2013 in quarterfinals of Halle, which proves Zverev’s improvement since then. Federer next faces defending champion Florian Mayer in the quarterfinals. The Swiss leads the head-to-head 7-0, including 3 previous wins over Mayer in Halle in 2005, 2012 and 2015.
Day 4 in Halle Westfalen was kicked off by a match between the 3rd seed Kei Nishikori and the 21-year-old Karen Khachanov, No. 3 in the #NextGen Race to Milan. Khachanov stands at 198 cm, and is generally a power player, giving him a solid chance at the upset over Nishikori, who prefers slower surfaces. Khachanov was the one to advance to the quarterfinals, but not based on his skill. Nishikori started to have problems with his left hip at 2-2, took a medical timeout. He seemed to be in a lot of pain while receiving the treatment, and after a couple of points, Nishikori retired from the match. Khachanov’s quarterfinal opponent is a fellow Russian #NextGen player, the 19-year-old Andrey Rublev. It was Nishikori’s first retirement, but the Japanese player is known for being rather frail and injury-prone. It is very unlucky for Nishikori to get injured so close to Wimbledon, and he has to hope that he will be fit by then.
Andrey Rublev faced a fellow Russian from a different generation in the second round, Mikhail Youzhny. Rublev upset 8th seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas in his opener, while Mikhail Youzhny beat s-Hertogenbosch finalist Ivo Karlovic in straight sets. Rublev started the set in a very dominant fashion, taking the opening set 6-0. Youzhny wasn’t giving up and broke for 4-2 in the second set. When serving out the set at 5-3, Youzhny turned away 3 break points and finally used the set point No. 4. The final set was more straightforward with only one game going to deuce. Rublev broke for 2-0, and both players held on to their serves, so Andrey Rublev won 6-0 3-6 6-3. Rublev has now broken the Top 100, the live ranking puts him at No. 91. With a win over Khachanov, the 19-year-old could move to Top 75. Rublev and Khachanov have never faced each other before, not even the junior circuit because of their 2-year difference, and this Russian derby will be one to follow for years to come.
Home crowd favorite and defending champion Florian Mayer also marches on to the quarterfinals. The German has had a lackluster year thus far, entering Halle with a win/loss record of 2-11. Things looked even worse after the 33-year-old lost to Jeremy Chardy in the opening round of Stuttgart. The 500 points Mayer won in Halle last year provided the majority of his points, and after they all dropped on Monday, Mayer’s ranking was in free fall. From No. 51, Mayer dropped by 83 places to No. 134. Wins over Paire and Pouille are his first main tour back-to-back wins since the Halle title last year. Reaching the quarterfinals now puts him at No. 109, still a long way from his initial ranking. In this match against Pouille, Mayer won 6-7(6) 6-4 6-3. The ending of the opening set was quite dramatic, with Pouille pulling off a 194 km/h second serve at 6-6, at Mayer foot faulting at set point for Pouille. Mayer was very dominant on serve in the other two sets and picked spots to break when Pouille was vulnerable. The German won 82% of points after the 1st serve and finally came back to win a match from set down for the first time this year. Pouille stayed true to his great tiebreak record and improved it to 81%, while Mayer won only 9% of tiebreaks this year. The biggest key to Pouille’s demise were the 52 unforced errors.
