TENNIS ICON ROGER FEDERER AND DOMINIC THIEM SET UP BLOCKBUSTER SHOWDOWN IN STUTTGART MERCEDES CUP SEMIFINALS BY RICKY DIMON FOR 10SBALLS

Written by: Staff on 10th June 2016

TENNIS ICON ROGER FEDERER AND DOMINIC THIEM SET UP BLOCKBUSTER SHOWDOWN IN STUTTGART MERCEDES CUP SEMIFINALS BY RICKY DIMON FOR 10SBALLS

epa05352988 Roger Federer from Switzerland in action against Taylor Fritz of the US during their second round match at the ATP tennis tournament inÂ Stuttgart, Germany, 09 June 2016. EPA/Marijan Murat |

It will be Roger Federer versus Dominic Thiem in the semifinals of the Mercedes Cup on Saturday afternoon. That was assured when they battled to respective victories during quarterfinal action on Friday. Federer fought past Florian Mayer 7-6(2), 7-6(1) after Thiem defeated Mikhail Youzhny 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

With his victory, Federer moved past Ivan Lendl into sole possession of the second spot on the ATP’s all-time wins list at 1,072.

“I think it was a good match really, with long rallies,” the 34-year-old Swiss commented. “I thought that I played much better (than in the second round). I’m not sure if the stats showed it, but I felt I served better. I’m really pleased how I felt this morning. My shoulder is a little sore having served a lot against (Taylor) Fritz. But that’s exactly the kind of thing I need to feel having gotten back onto the match courts.”

As for Thiem, he has simply been playing a lot this season. Such is the price of winning so many matches–43 to be exact, compared to only 11 losses. The 22-year-old had his back against the wall versus Mikhail Youzhny in the quarters, but he recovered to prevail in one hour and 50 minutes.

“It was my best match on grass so far, against a very good and experienced player on this surface,” Thiem assessed. “It was a very close match and it would have gone in any direction.”

Dominic Thiem from Austria in action against Sam Groth from Australia during their second round match at the ATP tennis tournament inÂ Stuttgart, Germany, 09 June 2016. EPA/Marijan Murat

Federer and Thiem will now be facing each other for the third time in their careers and for the third time in 2016. They have split their two previous meetings; Federer cruised 6-1, 6-4 in the Brisbane semifinals before Thiem recently got revenge in the form of a 7-6(2), 6-4 win on the clay courts of Rome.

It should come as no surprise that the Austrian had the upper hand on the slow stuff, at it has always been his favorite surface. He is coming off a semifinal showing at the French Open and has managed to maintain momentum even on grass thanks to surviving close calls in Stuttgart against both Sam Groth and Youzhny.

Needing some match practice in advance of Wimbledon after missing much of the clay-court swing, Federer is making his first appearance in Stuttgart. The world No. 3 is off to a solid but unspectacular start, which is understandable given that he had not played since falling to Thiem in Rome.

“It’s tough to play Roger on any surface, but especially on grass,” Thiem admitted.