RICKY DIMON REPORTS ON TENNIS; RAFAEL NADAL MAKES EARLY EXIT FROM QUEEN’S CLUB, ROGER FEDERER TO FACE ERNIE GULBIS IN HALLE

Written by: Staff on 16th June 2015

RICKY DIMON REPORTS ON TENNIS; RAFAEL NADAL MAKES EARLY EXIT FROM QUEEN'S CLUB, ROGER FEDERER TO FACE ERNIE GULBIS IN HALLE

Rafael Nadal of Spain returns the ball against Alexandr Dolgopov of Ukraine during their first round match of the Aegon tennis championships at the Queens Club in London, Britain 16 June 2015. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA |

Nadal makes early exit from Queen’s Club, Federer to face Gulbis in Halle

By Ricky Dimon

Two days after winning the Stuttgart title for just his second winner’s trophy of the season, Rafael Nadal saw his relative hot streak stopped in the first round of the AEGON Championships on Tuesday afternoon. Nadal led by a break in the third set but ultimately fell to Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-4.

First it was Dolgopolov’s turn to squander a lead. The underdog Ukrainian seized a 5-3 advantage in the second-set tiebreaker and got a look at a match point with Nadal serving at 5-6, but the Spaniard snuffed it out with a big serve and won the next two points to force a decider.

The final momentum shift came starting with Nadal leading 4-2 in the third. Dolgopolov finished the match on a streak of four straight games, including breaks at 3-4 and 5-4. He finally clinched victory with a perfect forehand passing shot.

“Overall I’m really happy with the match,” Dolgopolov assured. “Not even because I beat Nadal, but the way I played and the way I fought back after a disappointing second set. I think overall I had a really good match.”

“I was a break up in the third, and then he played some good points,” Nadal reflected. “I missed a few balls. I played against an uncomfortable player in the first round here and I had my chance. I didn’t play a bad match, but matches here are sometimes decided by just a few things and I was not lucky enough today. I probably didn’t play [aggressively enough] when I was up a break at 4-3.”

It would be fair to say that Nadal has not been playing with enough aggression throughout the entire season. Roger Federer, on the other hand, is in the midst of a fine 2015 campaign even though major titles eluded him at the Australian Open and French Open.

Federer is 30-6 for the year and he is coming off a solid stretch on clay in which he finished runner-up in Rome and reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. The Swiss is also the two-time defending champion of the Gerry Weber Open. Although his title defense is still alive, it almost ended before it really got started on Monday. Federer recovered from 5-3 down in the final-set tiebreaker to outlast Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6(8), 3-6, 7-6(5).

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

Up next for the top seed on Wednesday is a fifth career meeting with Ernests Gulbis. The head-to-head series stands at an even 2-2, but three of their previous meetings have come on clay and none has been contested on grass. Their most memorable showdown took place last spring at the French Open, where Gulbis pulled off a 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 upset. They also faced each other three times in 2010, including just once on a hard court when Federer prevailed 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in Doha.

Based on current form, their streak of four final sets in as many matches appears to be in serious jeopardy. Gulbis is at least starting to find the win column once in a blue moon, but the 86th-ranked Latvian is still a horrendous 4-13 for the season. He opened on Tuesday in Halle with a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over Sergiy Stakhovsky.

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

Topics: 10sballs.com, AEGON Championships, Atp World Tour, Federer, Gerry Weber Open, Halle, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Tennis

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June 16, 2015 at 11:41 pm

-@Dimonator REPORTS ON TENNIS; @RafaelNadal MAKES EARLY EXIT FROM QUEEN’S CLUB, @rogerfederer TO FACE GULBIS IN HALLE http://t.co/0mxQZWkHuf