Roger Federer has missed his 99th tournament victory and cannot break the sound barrier of 100 triumphs at the event in Wimbledon (from 2 July). In the final of the grass court event in Halle/Westphalia, the Grand Slam record winner lost to the unset Croatian 6:7 (6:8), 6:3, 2:6, which meant that Federer again lost the lead in the world ranking to his permanent rival Rafael Nadal (Spain).
After 2’06” Coric turned his second match point and celebrated his second title on the ATP tour after triumphing on clay in Marrakech/Morocco in 2017. The 21-year-old received prize money of 427,590 euros for this.
Federer, however, missed his tenth coup at the Gerry Weber Open and suffered his first defeat in a row after winning 20 grass court matches. The Swiss had two set points in the tie-break of the first set (one in his own service), but in the decisive moments the 36-year-old did not play the world’s number 34 with enough force.
His gestures and facial expressions made it clear that Federer himself was not always satisfied with his imagination. He had already had to fend off two match points against the Frenchman Benot Paire in the round of 16. And the Maestro also showed weaknesses in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, but did not give a set there.
Some more sand in the gearbox on your beloved lawn? Perhaps a good omen for Federer: Last year he had already failed in the opening round in Stuttgart, then won the title in Halle/Westphalia – and shortly afterwards celebrated his eighth Wimbledon coup since 2003.
Federer started concentrated in his 12th indoor final and scored just one point in his first three service games. But Coric bravely opposed this and repeatedly hinted at his enormous qualities on grass. Even when he faced the only break point in the opening set. After a long backhand duel, a passing shot by the defending champion landed in the net with his forehand.
In the tiebreak everything seemed to take its expected course. With his fifth ace, the “FedExpress” scored two set points in a row. At the first he was surprised by a strong return from the Croatian, at the second he left the initiative to the challenger, who in turn turned his first set point after just under an hour.
As a result, too, Federer initially missed opportunities. When he could not make use of his second break point at 2-1, because his forehand sailed far into the end, the 20-time major champion screamed out his frustration and obviously struggled with himself. Shortly afterwards, however, he took Coric off the service for the first time and took second set shortly afterwards. The audience raged, the sympathies on the courts of this world belong to the maestro.
The preliminary decision in favour of the underdog was made when he broke 4-2 in the third round. Federer fought, but Coric showed no nerves and achieved the greatest success of his still young career. Federer’s strong balance sheet in his oasis of well-being in East Westphalia was only somewhat clouded by the final defeat. In Halle he won 63 of his 70 matches.