GRASS-COURT SEASON BEGINS WITH FEDERER AND NADAL IN HALLE

Written by: Staff on 7th June 2014

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

GRASS-COURT SEASON BEGINS WITH FEDERER AND NADAL IN HALLE

epa04224222 Roger Federer of Switzerland in action during his first round match against Lukas Lacko of Slovakia for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 25 May 2014. EPA/YOAN VALAT |

By Ricky Dimon

The grass-court season may be short, but to say it is also sweet would be an understatement. Two of the four weeks, of course, are spent at the All-England Club. The first of the four begins on Monday in Halle, Germany and London, England and if tennis fans think they get a break after the French Open, they better think again.

Rafael Nadal, a current Roland Garros finalist, and Roger Federer, who lost to Ernests Gulbis in the fourth round, are getting right back in action in Halle. The quick turnaround is nothing new for two of the greatest players of all time. Nadal has played the week following the French Open seven of the last nine years (twice in Halle, five times at Queen’s Club). Federer has played in Halle 11 of the last 14 seasons. He also played at Queen’s Club once, way back in 1999.

Nadal has never made it to the Halle semifinals. The top-ranked Spaniard fell in the first round in 2005 and lost to Germany’s own Philipp Kohlschreiber in the 2012 quarters. Federer, by contrast, is 43-5 lifetime at what is really a home event for him, similar to the tournament in Basel, Switzerland. The 32-year-old Swiss has won the title six times, including last summer. He has not lost prior to the final since 2002, a stretch of eight appearances.

The Halle faithful will be pleased to see that Federer is in the easier half of the draw. That being said, no section of a field as strong is this one is going to present a simple task. The 17-time Grand Slam champion awaits either Jan-Lennard Struff or Joao Sousa in his opener. In the quarterfinals, Federer may have a rematch of last year’s final on his hands against Mikhail Youzhny. Another potential quarterfinal opponent is Ivo Karlovic, who is especially dangerous on grass and is going up against Youzhny in the first round.

Nadal has the misfortune of being in the same half as Milos Raonic, whereas Federer’s projected semifinal adversary if the seeds hold to form is Kei Nishikori. The No. 1 seed will kick off his campaign against either Dustin Brown or a qualifier. He may have to face Kohlschreiber again the quarterfinals, although Jerzy Janowicz is also a possibility at that point. Raonic, a French Open quarterfinalist before losing to Novak Djokovic, could meet Richard Gasquet in the quarters.

Topics: Dustin Brown, Kei Nishikori, milos raonic, Novak Djokovic, Queen's Club, Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet, Roger Federer, Tennis, Tennis News, Wimbledon

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

June 7, 2014 at 10:07 am

GRASS-COURT SEASON BEGINS WITH FEDERER AND NADAL IN HALLE – http://t.co/XQaARyQBfG @rogerfederer @RafaelNadal #tennis #Wimbledon
RD_Tennistalk says:

June 7, 2014 at 10:18 am

RT @10sBalls_com: GRASS-COURT SEASON BEGINS WITH FEDERER AND NADAL IN HALLE – http://t.co/XQaARyQBfG @rogerfederer @RafaelNadal #tennis #Wi…
queens_lopez_ says:

June 7, 2014 at 4:35 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: GRASS-COURT SEASON BEGINS WITH FEDERER AND NADAL IN HALLE – http://t.co/XQaARyQBfG @rogerfederer @RafaelNadal #tennis #Wi…