Federer storms over Zverev to lift his 9th Halle title — ATP Halle

Roger Federer eased closer to a ninth title at the Halle grass court tournament on Friday when he demolished defending champion Florian Mayer of Germany 6-3, 6-4 in the quarter-finals.

Federer – who lost to Tommy Haas at the Stuttgart Open last week as he returned to action following a two-month break – coasted through the opening set.

A superb dropshot put Federer 5-2 ahead and sealed Zverev’s fate before he won the match on his first match point with a crosscourt volley.

The 35-year-old Spaniard – who had spurned a match point in his previous final appearance against Grigor Dimitrov in 2014 – held on to triumph 4-6 7-6 (7/2) 7-6 (10/8).

Roger Federer showing his class, did not waste much time in clinching the second set and easily cruised to the winning mark.

Nadal’s 15th grand slam title overall established him as second on the men’s all-time list behind Federer. In the victory, Federer won 71 percent of his first serve points and 58 percent of his second serve points.

“I thought it was extremely close, especially that second set”, Federer said. “It was a hard match”. Kvitova responded immediately as she blasted back from 40-0 down to reel off a series of winners and once again take control of the set.

This will be the third meeting between the two, with the score now tied at one apiece.

Petra Kvitova claimed a remarkable victory at the Aegon Classic title in Birmingham just six months after a career-threatening stabbing incident at her home.

But for now, Federer will rightly revel in his glory, beating a near-certain future champion in Halle, and can now turn his attention to chasing an eighth Wimbledon crown.

The Gerry Weber Open 2017 final between Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev is set to start at 1:00pm local time, 4:30pm IST and 12.00pm BST.

6-4 win will earn the Swiss a top-four seeding at Wimbledon and he has now won four out of four against the German.

“I don’t know him that well yet so it’s a match where I’ll most likely focus on my own game”, Federer said of facing the Russian in the semifinals.