Nadal and Federer Are Early Winners in Germany at Gerry Weber Open
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer kicked off their grass court season at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany on Thursday with comfortable wins. The 2012 French Open Champion Nadal defeated Lukas Lacko of Slovakia, 7-5, 6-1 in the second round. Five-time champion Federer advanced to the quarterfinals after beating Florian Mayer, 6-4, 7-5. Nadal has not played in the Gerry Weber Open since 2005, and is set to play eighth-seeded and 2011 Gerry Weber Open Champion, Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, in the quarterfinals.
“It is going to be a big challenge to play him—he is a complete player and is very good on this surface. And then he is the defending champion too,” said Nadal.
Kohlschreiber advanced to the quarterfinals with his win over Lukasz Kubot of Poland, 6-7, 6-1, 6-3. Nadal has won all his eight career meetings with Kohlschreiber. Nadal has not played this tournament in seven years, losing in the first round to Alexander Waske.
“I’m very happy to be in Halle after a long time without coming here,” Nadal said. “For me, it’s always special to be back in a place where I haven’t been in quite for a while.”
Federer, who missed last year’s tournament, is set to play the fifth seed, Canada’s Milos Raonic, on Friday for a spot in the semifinals. He needed only 74 minutes to defeat Mayer. Federer hit 11 aces and won 76 percent of service points. Federer is a five-time Gerry Weber Open champion, winning in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2008.
