By Zoran Horvat
In the semifinal blockbuster of Stuttgart Roger Feder beats Nick Kyrgios in three tight sets going again through two tie-breakers.
The fans in Stuttgart could be very happy, having three of top four seeded players in the semifinals at the 40th anniversary of the Mercedes Cup. The fourth player was Milos Raonic, an specialist for grass courts.
Roger Federer was aiming for a victory against Nick Kyrgios wich would guaranty hin the return to the No.1 of the ATP ranking next Monday. In their Head2Head statistic each player could take one win. The last match between this two guys was in the semifinals at the Master 1000 in Miami last year. Federer took the win in three really tight tie-breaks.
It was the expected change of big shots from both sides. There were no long rallies as both players came up with their big serves in the first set. Federer got one break chance in the second and eighth game of the first set, but Kyrgios saved both with an great service winner. So the match went were the last one ended, in the tie-break. After a long rally with great shots from both side Kyrgios took the first mini break for an 3:1 lead. Two more should follow and Kyrgios grabbed the first set.
Would Federer again go out here from the tournament before the final? He wasn’t to much irritated after loosing the set and kept playing his game. At 1:1 in the second send Kyrgios already had a 40:15 lead on his own service, the he produced two errors and with two double faults gave the first break of the match to Federer. It was clearly visible that the concentration of Kyrgios felt a little bit down after loosing the own serve. The result was a second break for Roger and again with a double fault from Kyrgios.
The match went to a decider. There were no break opportunities for both players in the third set. But Kyrgios started to joke around with the fans. In one moment he said:
“Jesus, it’s 35!” and two minutes later he gave a comment after Federer played a great serve and volley combination: “Yeah, that’s world class!” The logical consequence was another tie break. Again it was Kyrgios who came with a great passing shot to an early 2:0 lead. But already afterwards he also lost his serve and Federer took the first lead with 4:3. After Kyrgios lost another service, Federer had to serves for the match but the his forehand gone wide. Nevertheless it was Federer who grabbed the first match point and with a great volley from the half field passing Kyrgios booked his ticket for the final and secured his spot at the top of the ranking next week.
Roger commented about the match and returning to No.1 from next Monday:
“I’m very happy, very relieved. It was the tough match I expected. Nick and I played so many breakers already. It was very close and it could go either way. I’m happy I got it and got back to world No.1 next Monday, so very excited. It would mean a lot to me to win Stuttgart, it’s never easy. Even before the match point, I lost already matches here having match points. I’m so happy and really excited to play Milos ( Raonic ) tomorrow and play another great match.”
Your reaction returning to No.1?
“Feels great, I’m very happy. Off course it feels different if you play for it in a Grand Slam final or at a 250 or 500 tournament. I’m extremely happy and thankful to my team. Specially when you got there after an 7:5 tie-break brings an extra drama to it.
I was very happy to stay calm and to play some good tennis at the end of the match. I protected my serve very well today and didn’t allowed him any break points. I knew it will be a tough one and will always come down to a pick up, a serve, a pass here or there so I was happy to be able to come through.”
Roger Federer – Nick Kyrgios 6:7(2), 6:2, 7:6(5)
In the second semifinal Milos Raonic faced Lucas Pouille who won the tournament here last year. Both players didn’t loose yet their service here during the tournament this week. In the first set at 2:2 Pouille lost a bit his concentration while Raonic came out with two big returns and secured the first break of the match that also meant the first set. At 3:3 in the second set Pouille again had some troubles on his own serve. In a long service game he could save two break points and finally won the game. The second set went to the tie break where Raonic secured the first mini break with an challenge after the line referee called the ball out. A second mini break was the way to the first final for Raonic this season. At the end he again had 19 aces and only once get in troubles when he saved the only break point for Pouille in the match.
After the match Raonic gave a short comment about the match:
“I try to make it difficult for my opponents about everything. I’m happy with the way I played. It was a difficult match and I’m happy that I have another chance to come back tomorrow. Hopefully I can play tomorrow some good tennis.” About Roger Federer he said: “I’m watching on my on game. I gotta go come out here who ever I play and to play my best.”
Milos Raonic – Lucas Pouille 6:4, 7:6(3)
