ATP: Roger Federer in Halle: Hard work on the way to his dreamed record title

Roger Federer had to fend off two match points against Benot Paire, even the quarter- and semi-final matches did not go well. Nevertheless, the Swiss player will go into the final against Borna Coric on Sunday as the favourite.

By Jörg Allmeroth from Halle/Westphalia

The man from the Mainzelmännchen station was a little ahead of his time. Roger Federer had barely finished his semi-final task in Halle against the dangerous American qualifier Denis Kudla 7:6 and 7:5 when a reporter from Second German Television opened the usual on court interview with the following wording: “Here stands the winner of the 26th Gerry Weber Open”.

Federer, much more relaxed and relaxed than before in the grippingly tight match, corrected the TV envoy with the gentle remark: “This wasn’t the final yet”. No, indeed, that was only the penultimate step, before the final match either against the Croatian Borna Coric. The home stretch, not the finish.

Federer still has to be patient, but his chances of winning the tenth title in his feel-good area in East Westphalia are intact – and with it the opportunity to stay in the Capitano’s world rankings published on Monday, the number one. “I had to fight again, bite my way through. It’s anything but child’s play this week,” said Federer, who struggled with himself and the tennis gods, especially in the second set, as well as many a tricky ball to play.

When the 36-year-old chased a ball into the stadium after a failed net attack, he even received one of the rare warnings for “ball abuse”. “I wanted to hit the moon. The ball is probably still on its way,” joked the maestro, as he was able to take the critical moments from their lighter, more cheerful side. “That way there’s at least something else to talk about Federer,” Federer said.

However, the Swiss continued to refresh his impressive record in the German tennis idyll. Federer reached the final for the twelfth time at his 16th start in Halle, another record, and has now won 63 of his 69 matches at the Gerry Weber Open. Federer never retired before the semi-final, and his record in the semi-final matches was now 12-2.

“What’s special here is the incredible support of the fans. They really always, always push me forward. Even in the bad times,” said Federer, who can now take stock of a current winning streak of 20 consecutive matches on the tennis greens. The final victory in Halle would then be the 99th title success for the great, old champion.

After a ten-week break from his work, the voluntary abstinence from the slide exercises in the sand, Federer has now completed a strict program. The match against Kudla was the eighth effort in a week and a half, no wonder Federer sometimes felt “a bit heavy legs”. On the other hand, before the first rallies at the Gerry Weber Open, he also explained half jokingly, half seriously: “I’ve had long enough rest and vacation, now I have to work again.

The return to the job was successful, even if not without bumpy situations – the Federer fans also had to worry in Stuttgart, when the superstar was in need in his first match and was trailing with a set and a break against Mischa Zverev.

But up to the current final in Halle Federer survived all difficulties, even fended off match points against the Frenchman Benoit Paire in the quarter-finals of the Gerry Weber Open. Against Kudla, he once again proved his status as King of Big Points, winning the tiebreak in set one and thus the 16th of his last 17 tiebreaks in this ATP 500 tournament.

In the second set, too, in which he often seemed agitated and unfocused, he was finally wide awake, took the break at 6:5 and served the match at 7:5. Once again, the Roger Federer show will go on until the final day.