ATP: Federer wins old champion duel against Simon and solves semi-final ticket

Roger Federer is once again in the semi-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Basel. In the duel against the experienced Frenchman Gilles Simon, the top seed won 7:6 (1), 4:6 and 6:4.

In 2008 Gilles Simon won the last match against Roger Federer – and the Frenchman has to wait a little longer.

But old master Simon knew how to help himself and caused early disillusionment among the local fans. The 33-year-old surprised the local hero with two great passing shots and took the lead with a break and 3:0. Federer then made a few mistakes, but Simon convinced with his great and tricky tennis, which caused problems for the crowd favourite.

Also three break points against Simon didn’t bring Simon out of his mind, who acted waiting and with overview. Federer played faster and more aggressively, but the fan favourite made some mistakes, which the Frenchman gratefully accepted. But as so often Federer was wide awake at the right moment, raised his level and took Simon’s serve to 4-5. Federer dominated the following tiebreak and retired with a 7:6 (1) from the affair.

Also in the second set it was Simon who made the first break and took the lead with 2:1. But the “Maestro” countered immediately and equalized to 2:2, only to have to accept another service loss afterwards. As in the previous two laps, the local hero showed a mixed performance and had a hard fight with his French opponent.

But the 20 times Grand Slam winner came back again and set 3:3. Completely unexpectedly the favourite had to give up his service only three games later but Simon could serve on the set win at 5:4. This time the 33-year-old Federer did not let come back: He took the second run with 6:4.

In the third section, Federer was the first to make the first break. The Swiss quickly took the lead 2-0. After defending a break ball, the Local hero was able to increase the score to 4:1. But Simon was not disturbed by this missed opportunity and shortened to 3:4 thanks to a return game won to zero.

Despite 54 Unforced Errors at this point Federer took the lead 5:4. And Simon couldn’t withstand the pressure. After leading 40:15, he gave up his serve and allowed Federer to reach the semi-finals in his hometown. There it goes for him against Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The single tableau in Basel