Federer Secures Seventh Gerry Weber Open Title in Wimbledon Warm Up
Roger Federer captured the Gerry Weber Open for the seventh time in his career on Sunday, defeating Colombian Alejandro Falla 7-6(2), 7-6(3) in Halle, Germany.
The Gerry Weber Open is one of the first grass-court tournaments of the year and prepares its participants for the upcoming Wimbledon, which the Swiss native has also won seven times.
“In the past, when I have played well at Halle I have usually played well at Wimbledon,” said Federer. “They have been two of my most successful tournaments, so I hope that this title will bring me luck again.”
After his picking up his second break point, Federer was serving for the set up 5-3. The Colombian hung tough though and notched a break point of his own eventually forcing a tiebreaker. At 2-2, Federer reeled off five straight points to take home the first set.
The second set was a near mirror image of the first, as the two traded break points and headed into another set tiebreaker. Federer, however, proved to be just a little too much for Falla as he used his serve to close out the tiebreaker and win the match in straight sets.
“It’s always tough losing a match, especially a final,” said Falla. “I wanted to win the title so badly. But when you play Roger in a final, it is always tough. It was a close match. I tried my best and fought for every point. I am happy with the way I played today and the tournament overall.”
Falla was attempting to become the first Colombian to win an ATP World Tour title since Mauricio Hadad in 1995. Despite the loss, he picks up 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points and opened up a lot of eyes to his play.
As for Federer, he now moves to 46-15 in his career at Halle, the tournament at which he made his career debut. The 32-year old sets his sights on the grass-court at Wimbledon now, where he will be seeking his 18th career Grand Slam title.
“I think the favorites are the same, regardless of what’s happened in the last years, the last weeks,” said Federer. “It all starts at zero.”
