After the tournament director (repeatedly) expressed his irritation that Roger Federer had pulled out of Halle after Roland Garros this year despite having private jets and chefs organized for his conveniences, the Gerry Weber Open has sought out the reliable Rafael Nadal.
Nadal will receive £750,000 for his appearance in Germany. Read more
Posted in Halle, Media, Queens, Rafael Nadal
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fter Roger Federer withdrew from this years tournament in Halle, the title was up for grabs and it was German Philipp Kohlschreiber who took it out 7-6m 2-0 after compatriot Philipp Petzschner (a battle of the Philipp’s this time instead of the Andy’s) retired with a back injury.
After highly competitive first set in which both players held serve, Petzschner taking the first mini break in the tiebreak before Kohlschrieber won four consecutive points to take the tiebreak and the first set. Read more
Posted in Halle, Injury, Lleyton Hewitt, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Philipp Petzschner, Roger Federer
Tomas Berdych seems to have recovered from his embarrassing first round lost at Roland Garros and has rebounded with a 7-6, 6-1 victory over Viktor Troicki to book a place in the semifinals of Halle after just 81 minutes.
Berdych will now face Philipp Petzschner.
While Berdych moves on, defending champion Lleyton Hewitt was sent packing after being defeated in straight sets by Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Halle’s tournament director Ralf Weber is apparently still feeling so disappointed that Roger Federer decided he needed to rest his groin that he’s still talking about how let down he feels.
Weber has said that not only is he planning to discuss the issue with Federer at Wimbledon (let it go!) but that he has offered a 20% discount on early round tickets to fans who may have been disappointed. “We know that the Gerry Weber Open is not Wimbledon. And we have to accept that. I believe we owe our spectators this gesture, even though we are not obligated to do so.”
It seems Federer’s lifetime commitment to play at Halle involves such a cushy deal for the former world number one that he was going to get a private jet and a maid!
Posted in Halle, Injury, Media, Roger Federer
Lleyton Hewitt can breathe a sigh of relief after his scheduled first round opponent Roger Federer has withdrawn from Halle. Unfortunately for Federer fans the reason for Federer’s withdrawal is because the French Open runner up has been experiencing some groin pain and is concerned that if he keeps playing it might effect his chances at Wimbledon. Read more
Posted in Halle, Injury, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Roland Garros
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Traditionally the winners of Halle and Queens have always done well at Wimbledon. But how much can we take from this years results and what can we really expect from Nadal and Federer?
Since 2004 only four players besides the dynamic duo have won Grand Slam titles (Gaudio 2004, Safin 2005, Djokovic 2008, del Potro 2009). This year it’s fair to assume that Nadal and Federer will once again be favourites to take home the most coveted prize in tennis.
Let’s look at the top 20 and see what their chances are (without seeing the draw I might add):
1- Rafael Nadal
After winning Roland Garros without dropping a set, claiming his 7th Grand Slam title and reclaiming the number 1 spot on the rankings chart, Nadal has achieved almost everything he set out to after the disappointment of last season. The last goal of the very driven Spaniard is to reclaim his Wimbledon title after being unfit to even attempt a defense last year. The only thorn in his side is a hamstring strain he picked up at Queens last week…..
Full article http://www.thebigtip.com.au/tennis/80-opinion/600-federer-and-nadal-favourites-at-wimbledon
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In his last 15 attempts Lleyton Hewitt had not managed to defeat Roger Federer, the former top player being well past his prime and frequently lacking the fire power on his groundstrokes to really trouble Federer. However, Federer has been a different player since winning his 16th Grand Slam at the Australian Open this year, looking less motivated to get into battles and less sharp that usual, and Hewitt took advantage.
Hewitt won the Halle final 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Halle is the recently official home ground of Federer, with the Swiss superstar signing a lifetime agreement to play at Halle every year as long as he is an active player.
Roger looked dominant on serve, breaking Hewitt at 3-2, then managing to defend a break point at 4-2 before comfortably serving the set out. Hewitt then took a 2-0 lead in the second set before Federer broke back, not dropping serve, and looking on course for a two set victory. In the ninth game Hewitt battled back from 0-40 down, with that the momentum shifted to the Australian
Hewitt then broke in the opening game of the deciding set before comfortably holding serve, eventually serving for the title at 5-4.
“It’s fantastic. Roger’s a hell of an opponent; his grass-court record speaks for itself. Any time you play Roger on a grass court you know you’re in for a hell of a battle and I was lucky to get out of today’s match. It’s fantastic for me; I’m getting towards the end of my career and had couple of surgeries, to know I can still compete at this level. I’m thrilled to be here and to have won another title. The tournament’s been fantastic; Roger’s obviously come here all of his career, it’s a fantastic atmosphere. I’ll be back next year.” – Lleyton Hewitt
“He started to play much better as the match went on. He got into a good rhythm, good zone, hardly made any errors. He had to push me there. So, it was a tough match. I’m happy with the way I’m playing. It’s unfortunate not coming through today, but I think my level of play is fine. This loss here doesn’t worry me in any way. So, I’m excited about next week. And I thought it was a good tournament.” – Roger Federer
Posted in Australian Open, Halle, Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer
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Lleyton Hewitt has suffered a possible set back in his Wimbledon homes, with yet another injury issue, although this time not with his hips or knees. Hewitt reportedly felt felt a twinge in his neck during the second set of his match against Thiemo De Bakker. He managed to continue to play to book a place in the quarterfinals where he will face Andreas Beck.
“I felt a bit of stiffness in my neck when I went back for a smash and I didn’t want it to get worse, but I was able to keep going, which was good. I served very well and cleanly – I have not put a foot wrong so far. If I can take care of my serve, then I feel I am as good a returner as anyone. I think I can do some damage if I get the right draw.”
Posted in Andreas Beck, Halle, Lleyton Hewitt, Thiemo De Bakker
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In a rematch of last years match at the same point in the tournament, Rafael Nadal has again defeated Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. In defeating the Australian former world number 1, Nadal has notched up his 18th consecutive win on clay this season.
Both players broke in their opening service games, with Lleyton working hard to try and consolidate the break but Nadal wore him down and after 13 minutes of player the two champions were 1 apiece. The players battled with the wind and Rafa started to find his range on the forehand. Hewitt could be heard court-side saying “the wind is a nightmare”. With less margin for error than Rafa (a side effect of Nadals vicious spin), Hewitt struggled to keep the ball in and get past Nadal, who’s defensive skills were evident from the outset, as well as deft touch at the net. Unfortunately for the Australian Nadal raced away to a 4-1 lead very efficiently.
Lleyton hustled around the court, using his great court speed to stay in numerous points as Rafa displayed his dominance. Nadal didn’t look as fast as Hewitt, but it was almost as if he didn’t need to move because his anticipation was so good that he was already in place to hit the ball, rather than scrambling like Hewitt.
Hewitt did well to take his opening service game of the second set easily with red dirt spraying around the players in the gusty conditions. Lleyton appeared to limp slighting in the second game as Nadal made the Australian slide repeatedly, testing both of Hewitt’s hips. Rafa quickly broke for a 2-1 lead, before giving Hewitt double break-back point, only one of which Lleyton needed as Nadal battled down the windy end of the court.
“I had to play against the wind but I played the whole match really well. I was very comfortable with my forehand, my backhand, but there was the wind. Because of the wind, Hewitt takes the ball really early, and so the ball came to my side fairly low. Sometimes I had trouble catching the ball because I was playing against the wind. But those were my main difficulties. In spite of all these difficulties, I felt fairly comfortable.”
The players then swapped ends, making it much harder for Hewitt to control the high bouncing Nadal forehand. Every time Nadal lacked depth Hewitt charged the net, trying to stop Rafa from dominating from the baseline. Despite repeatedly checking his racket for a crack, after accidentally whacking it into the dirt, Nadal broke in the ninth game, allowing him to serve the set out.
After threatening to smash a racket or thump a ball into the crowd, Hewitt was broken again in the opening game of the first set, Hewitt firing a ball into the air in frustration. Hewitt broke back immediately to, again, level at 1-1, benefitting from another lapse from Nadal. But after nearly 2 1/2 hours of play Hewitt was bundled out of the event.
Nadal has ended Hewitt’s run at Roland Garros on the Australian’s last four attempts.
Nadal’s concentration appeared to dip briefly at points as it has in all of his matches so far at Roland Garros, something unusual for the Spaniard, something he will need to eradicate if he wants to win the tournament. Luckily, unlike last year, Nadal does not face Robin Soderling in the next round. He will play Thomaz Bellucci. The two have only played one time before back in 2008 when Nadal dispatched Bellucci at Roland Garros in straight sets.
Hewitt will now travel the Halle instead of to Queens, his normal pre-Wimbledon tournament. “I am getting old, so I need to try different things.”
“I was a little bit worried. The weather conditions weren’t very good. I saw the clouds gathering. When I walked on the court, I looked at the sky, and I kept looking at the sky because I really wanted to wrap up this match. I did not want to continue playing this particular match tomorrow”. - Rafael Nadal
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Posted in Halle, Lleyton Hewitt, Match Report, Rafael Nadal, Robin Soderling, Roland Garros, Thomaz Bellucci, Wimbledon
