Gerry Weber Open’s illustrious history is more than having Roger Federer as the face of the tournament. True, he has won more titles in Halle, Germany than any other performer, and his totals – eight championships and three final round appearances – are significant, but the ATP Tour 500 series event is more than the victory numbers of the legendary Swiss talent.
Borrowing from Lewis Carroll’s, intriguing fantasy “Alice in Wonderland”, in which she exclaimed, “curiouser and curiouser”, today’s story will provide a look-back sample of the “curious” taken from twenty-four years of semifinal play.
In 1995, Michael Stich of Germany defeated Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands, 7-6, 6-1 in one of the last four contests. Marc Rosset of Switzerland edged Jacco Eltingh, also from the Netherlands, 7-6, 7-5 in the other. Eltingh and Haarhuis, long-time pals and at one time, No. 1 in ATP doubles, were the first and only countrymen to lose in the singles semifinals, but go on to win the doubles. They downed Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Andrei Olhovsky of Russia, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the final.
“Curiouser and curiouser…”
Kafelnikov’s debut singles semifinal was a 7-6, 7-6 loss to Magnus Larsson of Sweden, in 1994. Two years later, he slipped past his doubles partner, Daniel Vacek of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, but for the second straight year the doubles championship evaded his grasp, as he and Vacek were defeated, 6-1, 7-5, by Byron Black of Zimbabwe and Grant Connell of Canada in the trophy round.
“Curiouser and curiouser…”
In 1997 and ’98, Kafelnikov continued his Halle roll. He was 6-3, 6-4 better than Boris Becker, who was the face of German tennis in those days. Twelve-months later, he survived a 7-6, 6-7, 6-3 encounter with Thomas Johansson of Sweden.
Johansson put a speed bump in his path with a 2001, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 reversal of their previous result. The next year (2002), Kafelnikov responded to the defeat by scoring a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 decision over Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark.
“Curiouser and curiouser…”
Though Nicolas Kiefer of Germany surprised Federer, in the 2002 semifinals, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, the music was changing. From 2003 until ’06, the choir was united singing “Roger, Roger, Roger, Roger” as he proved to be better than Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2; Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-4; Tommy Haas of Germany, 6-4, 7-6; and Haas again, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3. He returned to the hit parade with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Kiefer in 2008. He stopped Philipp Petzschner of Germany, 7-6, 6-4, in 2010, and scored another victory over Youzhny, 6-1, 6-4 in 2012. Against Haas, in the 2013 event, he won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. In the next two years, Federer sidelined Kai Nishikori of Japan, 6-3, 7-6 and Ivo Karlovic of Croatia, 7-6, 7-6. In 2016, NextGen flag bearer Alexander Zverev of Germany altered the harmony defeating Federer, 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.
“Curiouser and curiouser…”
ATP Tour tennis, for the most part, plays to form. But, from time to time, unexpected results have occurred. Usually, a competitor whose game is more suited to clay has an “on” week. Some of Halle’s surprise semifinalists have included: Carlos Moya of Spain who was defeated by Nicklas Kulti of Sweden, 6-3, 6-4 in 1999; Arnaud Clement of France who Kiefer edged 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 in 2003; Guillermo Canas of Argentina who Marat Safin of Russia dispatched, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in 2005; and Kristof Vliegen of Belgium who was downed 6-3, 6-2 by Tomáš Berdych of the Czech Republic in 2006.
As things turned out, Saturday’s semifinals were not disrupted by “Curiouser and curiouser” elements. Federer, the No. 1 seed, eliminated Russian Karen Khachanov, who is a member of the NextGen class, 6-4, 7-6. Zverev, the No. 4 seed, eliminated Richard Gasquet of France 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The results set up a reality fairytale that will be matching Roger Federer, who “is” the Gerry Weber Open, against Alexander Zverev, who “is what Halle will become”. And it is a sure thing that there will be nothing curious about the outcome.
