Federer and Murray Both Win Titles in Wimbledon Tuneups

After 10 months without a title, Roger Federer finally came through with a win in Halle, Germany at the 2013 Gerry Weber Open on Sunday.  He overcame opponent, Mikhail Youzhny, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4 to win his first title since last August, when he won at Cincinnati. Gerry Weber is a warm-up grass court tournament to help players prepare for Wimbledon. Federer started off slow, but stepped up his game in the second set. Both Youzhny and Federer are over 30, and this was the first final on the tour this year to have the two finalists over that age.

”I’ve won a lot but not so much in the last 10 months, although I feel I’d been playing well,” Federer said. ”But the others were playing better.”

This win was Federer’s sixth win, out of eight, in the finals at Halle, but his first since 2008. When Federer wins at Halle, there is a good chance that he will win in Wimbledon as well, seeing as four of his Wimbledon titles came after being a victor in Halle.

Federer’s win at Halle puts him at 77 career title wins, making him tied for third on the all-time list with John McEnroe. The only two players ahead of them are Jimmy Connors with 109 wins, and Ivan Lendl with 94 wins.  Federer, who is one of the greatest grass players in history, is looking forward to defending his title at Wimbledon.

”I feel fit; I feel confident. I’m excited about what’s to come,” Federer said. ”I’m very pleased with how I played this week.”

Andy Murray, who did not play in the French Open, came through with a win at the Queen’s Club tournament to beat defending champion Marin Cilic 5-7, 7-5, 6-3. Both players had to deal with the added pressure of a three hour rain delay. This is Murray’s 27th career title, and third time winning this tournament; it is also his second title of the season, his first coming at Miami in March.

Murray’s absence at the French Open was due to a back injury, but he did not take it easy in that time off.

”I worked very hard in the time that I had off to try and get myself in the best shape possible,” Murray said. In the match’s eighth game, Murray injured his groin, but kept playing without an injury timeout. Murray cashed in on a forehand error from Cilic to go up 3-1 in the third set, and went on to win the match and the tournament.