Gerry Weber Open Halle

[kskate2]

Fed holds serve in the final set. Taking the match 6-4 in the decider. He exacts some revenge as he lost to Tommy in the final last year.

Serve was key today and he really got it going in the 2nd set and maintained form throughout.

 

[kskate2]

Richie down a set and a break to the Good Doctor

 

[herios]

Richie down a set and a break to the Good Doctor

Make that 2 breaks

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And Misha just made his first ever grass final. Good for him!

 

[DarthFed]

Richie down a set and a break to the Good Doctor

Make that 2 breaks

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And Misha just made his first ever grass final. Good for him!

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That's surprising but then there are so few grass tournaments. 3 and 2 over Gasquet is a very surprising result. Hopefully Fed goes to 15-0 vs. the mad doctor

 

[kskate2]

I can't see Fed losing this match Darth. He really kicked his game a up level in the match against Haas. For once in his life Haas actually looked his age in the 2nd and early in the 3rd sets.

 

[DarthFed]

I can't see Fed losing this match Darth. He really kicked his game a up level in the match against Haas. For once in his life Haas actually looked his age in the 2nd and early in the 3rd sets.

I don't see it either. It might be "just" a 250 tournament but he has to want a title badly after so long, especially heading into Wimbledon.

 

[Johnsteinbeck]

Roger had 14 aces so he must have served well and good that he was able to rally for the win. Hopefully he gets Gasquet in the final as that would be a tougher test.

well, he'll get the "concentration" test, i guess - playing a guy against whom he's lost all of ONE set in nine matches. that said, never know which Youzhny shows up.

Fed served very well indeed. first set was quite a bit of Federror, something like 5 fh UEs in the first three games. he tuned those out though, over time, and the serve was clicking quite well. meanwhile, poor Tommy served NINE dfs, two of them in a row for the decisive break in the third.

must say that i'm really bummed for Tommy. basically, he was unlucky with the draw - i'd have favored him against either of the other two semifinalists, tbh; he had some of the harder matchups throughout. with Cilic unable to defend his Points as well, it won't affect Tommy's ranking immediately. SW19 will be a good opportunity to turn right around and add some Points though. being seeded and all - last year, he had lost v Kohlschreiber in the first round.

All 4 semifinalists have single handed BH

yeah, thought about that too. tbh, i don't think it's necessarily a coincidence - Halle is a very classic, very fast, Very low-bouncing grass surface. the quickness and versatility of the 1hbh is rather relevant here.

 

[Front242]

I can't see Fed losing this match Darth. He really kicked his game a up level in the match against Haas. For once in his life Haas actually looked his age in the 2nd and early in the 3rd sets.

Didn't get to see the match unfortunately as the missus dragged me into town shopping but good to see Fed finally in with a shot at a title as he hasn't won one in months. Haas will lose a few points here but assuming he gets a favourable draw he'll have the potential to gain many at Wimbledon. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him reach the 4th round. Would be great if he could match his RG run and make the quarters.

Regarding Tommy looking his age, he's played a lot more than any of the top 10 guys and it's likely taking its toll. Seems he's really making a push for top 10 as he's played 6 tournaments more than Federer and Djokovic with Murray having played the least tournaments so far this year at 8. Tommy has time to get rested before Wimbledon and has a great ranking right now to hopefully avoid some super difficult matches in the first week.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/Rankings/YTD-Singles.aspx

 

[Didi]

Haas will enter the top 10 sooner or later, that's almost a given but the real challenge for him is to qualify for the YEC. Believe it or not, he never made it to the season finale in his entire career. I was shocked to hear that when he mentioned it during this week in Halle in some interviews. He said his ultimate dream is not just making it back to the top 10 or being able to compete with the best, he badly wants to qualify for London.

Looking at the Race he's currently 12th but will be 11th after Halle. Given that the players behind him do not really look like pushing or making some noise, he will have to battle it out with Wawrinka, Del Potro and Gasquet for just one single ticket left as I figure the Big 4 + Ferrer, Berd and Tsonga are a lock or at least are supposed to be. Given that Delpo is up and down all season and Gasquet rather an underdog in this conversation, it could come down to Haas and Wawrinka. I just hope Tommy doesn't fade away physically in the 2nd half of the season.

 

[Front242]

Haas will enter the top 10 sooner or later, that's almost a given but the real challenge for him is to qualify for the YEC. Believe it or not, he never made it to the season finale in his entire career. I was shocked to hear that when he mentioned it during this week in Halle in some interviews. He said his ultimate dream is not just making it back to the top 10 or being able to compete with the best, he badly wants to qualify for London.

Looking at the Race he's currently 12th but will be 11th after Halle. Given that the players behind him do not really look like pushing or making some noise, he will have to battle it out with Wawrinka, Del Potro and Gasquet for just one single ticket left as I figure the Big 4 + Ferrer, Berd and Tsonga are a lock or at least are supposed to be. Given that Delpo is up and down all season and Gasquet rather an underdog in this conversation, it could come down to Haas and Wawrinka. I just hope Tommy doesn't fade away physically in the 2nd half of the season.

Pretty shocking alright given how talented he is. Would be great to see him qualify this year and imagine the feeling of achievement doing it at 35.

 

[tented]

I can't see Fed losing this match Darth. He really kicked his game a up level in the match against Haas. For once in his life Haas actually looked his age in the 2nd and early in the 3rd sets.

I don't see it either. It might be "just" a 250 tournament but he has to want a title badly after so long, especially heading into Wimbledon.

He also doesn't like losing to one of these guys he's owned his entire career. That will be extra motivation to win this.

Here's a list Roger's head-to-head against guys who were once within the Top 20. Notice how many have never beaten him (including Youzhny):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Federer_career_statistics#Head.E2.80.93to.E2.80.93head_vs._top-20_ranked_players

Also, I agree with kskate2 that Roger upped his game after dropping the first. He wants this title, and I hope he gets it. He'll need this extra bit of confidence heading into Wimbledon.

 

[kskate2]

I just tuned in to see Fed dropped the opening set breaker to Dr. Zhivago?

 

[Front242]

I just tuned in to see Fed dropped the opening set breaker to Dr. Zhivago?

Yeah missed it to up the TB but no major surprise as 1-2 points can decide the outcome on grass and obviously in TBs and also Youzhny is in great form lately. He did very well on clay this year also, very much exceeding expectations. Good to see him back playing well as we know he can.

 

[herios]

I just tuned in to see Fed dropped the opening set breaker to Dr. Zhivago?

I can't remember seeing Dr. Zhivago playing this well, hope he takes this one home and erases that shameful "zero" from the stats.

 

[kskate2]

That was some overhead winner from Fed in response to the Doctor's sweet lob

 

[DarthFed]

Winner takes all set. Roger turned it on good there and the Dr. needs to get his serve back.

 

[kskate2]

I just tuned in to see Fed dropped the opening set breaker to Dr. Zhivago?

I can't remember seeing Dr. Zhivago playing this well, hope he takes this one home and erases that shameful "zero" from the stats.

I don't remember the opponent, but either 2010 or 2011 USO he played very well and dismissed his opponent who I believe was favored to win. I'll look it up when I have more time.

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2 BP's for Fed and takes the 1st one, will serve at 4-3

 

[Front242]

Fed rights the ship and finally looks likely to bag his first title in months.

 

[britbox]

Fed rights the ship and finally looks likely to bag his first title in months.

Looking good.

 

[Front242]

Well done Roger. First title in months and extends the h2h over Youzhny to 15-0. Youzhny played very well.