ROGER FEDERER SURVIVES THRILLER IN HALLE, RAFAEL NADAL SET TO BEGIN QUEEN’S CLUB CAMPAIGN BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 15th June 2015

ROGER FEDERER SURVIVES THRILLER IN HALLE, RAFAEL NADAL SET TO BEGIN QUEEN'S CLUB CAMPAIGN BY RICKY DIMON

Swiss Roger Federer in action against Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber during their first round match for the ATP tournament in Halle/Westfalen, Germany, 15 June 2015. EPA/MAJA HITIJ |

Roger Federer made a great escape in the first round of the Gerry Weber Open on Monday, outlasting Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(8), 3-6, 7-6(5). Federer fired 15 aces and needed two hours and 11 minutes to keep his title defense alive.

The showdown featured so much back-and-forth drama that a first send ending 10-8 in a tiebreaker proved to be an afterthought when things were all said and done. A thrilling third set saw Kohlschreiber save two match points at 4-5 before Federer fought off a break point at 5-5.

One more service hold later and another ‘breaker had to decide the outcome. Kohlschreiber led 5-3 at one point only to crack at the finish line. The underdog German lost both of his service points at 5-4 and 5-5, the first after a wild rally, then netted a return with Federer serving at 6-5.

Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in action against Switzerland’s Roger Federer during their first round match for the ATP tournament in Halle/Westfalen, Germany, 15 June 2015. EPA/MAJA HITIJ

“Of course it’s not a nice draw, but you have to take it how it comes,” Kohlschreiber lamented. “I had a great plan in my mind how to play against him. I mentioned before that his first grass-court match could be a little bit tricky. I had my chances but I think at the end we both played very good level on both sides. In the crucial moments, he made the better decisions.”

I’m very relieved,” Federer said during his on-court interview. “Philipp served at 5-4 in the (third-set) tiebreak. It’s rough on grass,=; it takes two serves and maybe that’s it. I wasted two match points and then saved a break point, so it was a roller-coaster ride in the end. My nerves are still going a bit crazy right now.”

Swiss Roger Federer in action against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber during their first round match for the ATP tournament in Halle/Westfalen, Germany, 15 June 2015. EPA/MAJA HITIJ

If Federer’s most recent match was a roller-coaster, Rafael Nadal’s entire season has been a borderline train wreck–at least it had been until last week. That’s when the 10th-ranked Spaniard showed signs of emerging from an extensive slump by capturing a title on the grass courts of Stuttgart.

Nadal triumphed at the Mercedes Cup on Sunday and will be back in action two days later to kick off his AEGON Championships campaign. Up first for the No. 5 seed at Queen’s Club is a seventh career meeting with Alexandr Dolgopolov.

The head-to-head series stands at 5-1 in favor of Nadal, but plenty of entertainment has taken place since the Spaniard dominated their first four encounters. Nadal prevailed 6-3, 7-6(3) in the 2014 Rio de Janeiro final before Dolgopolov pulled off a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5) upset a month later at the Indian Wells Masters.

If Nadal was expected to emerge from a season-long slump on his old stomping grounds of European clay, he may be in line to deliver a big surprise on a more unlikely surface. The world No. 10 captured just his second title of 2015 last week on the grass courts of Stuttgart. It is a surface on which Nadal has never played Dolgopolov, who has also been in lackluster form this year. The 79th-ranked Ukrainian has lost three matches in a row and has not been past the second round of a tournament since Miami. Dolgopolov is coming off a routine setback against Kohlschreiber in his Stuttgart opener, so his confidence cannot be high at the moment.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Atp World Tour, Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Mercedes Cup, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Queen's Club, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

June 15, 2015 at 10:14 pm

-@rogerfederer SURVIVES THRILLER IN #HALLE, @RafaelNadal SET TO BEGIN QUEENS CLUB CAMPAIGN BY @Dimonator http://t.co/faQmuWOmMW #ATP #tennis
BSipiora says:

June 15, 2015 at 10:15 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@rogerfederer SURVIVES THRILLER IN #HALLE, @RafaelNadal SET TO BEGIN QUEENS CLUB CAMPAIGN BY @Dimonator http://t.co/faQm…
Dimonator says:

June 15, 2015 at 10:34 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@rogerfederer SURVIVES THRILLER IN #HALLE, @RafaelNadal SET TO BEGIN QUEENS CLUB CAMPAIGN BY @Dimonator http://t.co/faQm…