Tennis News

In his first grass court match of the season, Roger Federer will come up against Philipp Kohlschreiber for the ninth time on the professional tour and leads the series with a perfect 8-0 head to head record against the German. Their last meeting on the tour took place at the Paris Masters in 2013 and he holds three wins against Kohlschreiber at Halle already.

Following a solid clay court showing, which ended with a quarter-final round of the French Open after a loss to eventual champ Stan Wawrinka. He will now look to secure an eighth title in Halle ahead of the Wimbledon Championships at the end of the month.

“I’ve been playing great for the last 12 months,” he said. “I had the feeling that everything went well after I played at Halle last year, except in Australia where it didn’t go so well. But I was confident everywhere else, so I hope I can play well here.”

“Of course at this stage of my career I want to have the perfect preparation for Wimbledon,” said Federer. “That means a victory here. I want to defend the title in a tough field of competitors. That’s exactly what I need right now.

Unlike his upcoming opponent, Kohlschreiber is coming off a week on grass already, as he performed at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, where he lost to Gael Monfils in the quarter-final stage of the tournament.

In all eight of their previous meetings, Kohlschreiber has only taken a set or more off Federer on one occasion: the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, where they went four thrilling sets. While Kohlschreiber has had more practice on the grass court surface so far this season, Federer should have little trouble working his way into the second round of the tournament.

An exciting contest between Lleyton Hewitt and Kevin Anderson takes place in the opening round of the Queen’s Club tournament in London. This marks the third time they meet on the ATP World Tour, with the series tied at 1-1. Anderson won their most recent encounter during last year’s Indian Wells Masters event.

Currently on a four-match losing streak, Lleyton Hewitt has played selective tournaments this season. Following his loss at the Australian Open, he suffered opening round losses in Miami, Houston and most recently at the Topshelf Open. He will look to snap that streak when he moves to a tournament he has historically performed well in.

“I’m definitely a dangerous floater,” Hewitt told News Corp. “The biggest thing is to get as many balls back as possible, put some kind of pressure on him. Obviously it’s going to be a bit greasy out here for the first couple of days. If you’re not 100 per cent sure of your footing on this surface, it can be a little bit detrimental to your game. Every match is going to be bloody tough here with the quality of field. Even if a seed loses there’ll be a quality player coming through that section — no easy matches.”

Unlike his upcoming opponent, Kevin Anderson has played an entire clay court season and is coming off a third round loss to Richard Gasquet at the French Open. His opening round match in London will be his first grass court contest of the season.

This marks the third time that Hewitt and Anderson meet on the ATP World Tour, with head-to-head series tied 1-1. Hewitt won their first meeting in Stockholm in 2012, while Anderson won their most recent encounter during last year’s Indian Wells Masters event. It will be interesting to see who holds the advantage this week in London event, as it will be their first ever meeting on grass, which is Hewitt’s favourite surface. Anderson has all the physical traits required to defeat Hewitt and he should be considered the favorite for tomorrow’s match-up.

The grass season is in full swing and one of the showpiece grass events on the Men’s tour begins this week in London. The AEGON Championships was previously a 250 event but has been upgraded to 500, meaning that the draw has now been reduced to a 32 player draw rather than the usual 56. Sixth seed Grigor Dimitrov looks to defend his title, with an in-form Andy Murray his biggest threat. The Scot is a three time champ at the event, winning in 2009, 2011 and 2013

Murray can meet Dimitrov in the quarter finals if seedings hold. An incredibly flat performance last year at Wimbledon saw him sent packing by the Bulgarian in straight sets, coming as a major shock despite Dimitrov’s perceived potential. Before that, Murray must first defeat former Wimbledon quarter finalist Yen Hsun-Lu. The qualifier can often be tricky on grass but lost in straight sets to Murray last time they faced on grass, at Wimbledon in 2013. A Spaniard awaits in round two, be it Fernando Verdasco or Roberto Bautista Agut. Verdasco notably held a two set lead over Murray in the quarter finals the year he won the tournament, showing he can be a tough out on the surface while Bautista Agut has a grass title to his name in ‘S-hertogenbosch 2014.

Defending champion Dimitrov will probably need to navigate two tricky big servers to make the quarters. Sam Querrey’s serve will be a massive weapon on the surface although Dimitrov has won their only meeting. Gilles Muller will be full of confidence coming off a semi final in the Netherlands while already boasting a win over Dimitrov this year in Rotterdam. Mikhail Youzhny will hope to spoil proceedings but the 2012 Wimbledon quarter finalist’s form in 2015 has been disastrous.

Marin Cilic famously won this event in 2012 after David Nalbandian’s disqualification for hitting a line judge. He tried to win it the conventional way in 2013, falling to Andy Murray in the final. The Croatian will have been disappointed to have not made his first grass final at the weekend, losing from a break up in the final set in his semi final match. He will open against Adrian Mannarino while the other seed while another Frenchman is a possible second round opponent in qualifier Paul Henri Mathieu. More likely though, Cilic will have the chance to avenge his loss against Troicki in the second round.

Last year’s losing finalist Feliciano Lopez has always proven a tricky player on grass with his lefty serve and following volley and has three Wimbledon quarter final appearances to his name. He opens against Joao Sousa while a tiebreak festival could be on the cards in round two if John Isner can win. Lopez played 9 tiebreaks in total at last years tournament. Isner faces the highly touted American prospect, Jared Donaldson, who qualified after getting a wildcard.

Gilles Simon was scheduled to open his tournament against -s’Hertogenbosch finalist David Goffin although the Belgian had neck pain his defeat to Nicolas Mahut so may rest up rather than make the journey to London for this event. Thanasi Kokkinakis stands between a possible all-French second round with Jeremy Chardy. The Australian now has received six main draw wildcards this year, although being from a slam country will account for at least two of them. It will be Kokkinakis’ first main draw match on grass so will be interesting to see how he goes.

After skipping the French Open, Milos Raonic should be raring to go and is in a section of the draw that he will fancy his chances in. Raonic begins against home wildcard James Ward while Richard Gasquet should await in round two if his head to head over Simone Bolelli is extended to 6-0. Gasquet is 1-2 against Raonic although he did win a marathon five setter at the US Open in 2013.

What a difference a week has made for Rafael Nadal, with the doom and gloom surrounding him after his loss to Novak Djokovic at the French Open. Fast forward 10 days and the Spaniard is celebrating a title at the new event in Stuttgart after beating Viktor Troicki in the final. His stats were mightily impressive in the final, winning 42/49 on first serve and saving his only break point faced. Nadal will begin against Alexandr Dolgopolov while a second round against Pablo Andujar or Guillermo Garcia-Lopez is awfully kind for such a stacked draw.

Stan Wawrinka will play his first match since the French Open and will be ripe for an upset against Nick Kyrgios if the Australian can bring his grass form of last year to the table. Kyrgios made the quarter finals, memorably beating Rafael Nadal on the way there. Wawrinka’s grass form has never been all that great although he was a quarter finalist at last year’s Wimbledon. It could be a meeting between Australia’s old and new hopes in round two if wildcard Lleyton Hewitt can surprise Kevin Anderson. Hewitt is winding down his career and was given a wildcard for what should be his last Queens event. Hewitt is a four time winner at Queens as well as a one time champion at Wimbledon, taking the title in 2002.

Much like Queens, the Gerry Weber Open in Halle has had an upgrade to an ATP World Tour 500 tournament. The German event has been dominated by Roger Federer who has seven titles from nine finals while Tommy Haas is a two time winner with victories in 2009 and 2012.

Federer begins his quest for number eight against Philipp Kohlschreiber, one of the tougher non seeds in the draw. Kohlschreiber is a one-time Wimbledon quarter finalist at Wimbledon while also winning this event in 2011, taking advantage after Federer withdrew via injury. He was also the losing finalist in 2008, one loss of his eight total to Federer in his career. Federer’s suffered his first week one loss at Wimbledon in 2013 in thirteen years when he played potential round two opponent Sergiy Stakhovsky. The Ukranian will play Ernests Gulbis in round one, assuming he has recovered from the injury that saw him retire down 5-3 in the final set against Samuel Groth last week.

Seventh seed Bernard Tomic looks to get back to winning ways in Halle when he faces Steve Johnson. The Australian took Rafael Nadal to three sets in a Stuttgart loss last week and is fairly handy on grass, having one Wimbledon quarter final to his name. Johnson is 4-5 on grass in his career with one of those wins coming on a retirement. The winner of this clash will play a German, be it wildcard Jan Lennard Struff or Florian Mayer, who uses his protected ranking to secure entry.

Also amongst those who made multiple finals is Tomas Berdych who takes his place as third seed. The 2007 champion had been remarkably consistent this year, never losing to a player outside the top 10 in 2015 prior to his French Open loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. There doesn’t seem much in the way of competition to see that record extended to two losses, especially with Victor Estrella Burgos first up. Borna Coric’s first foray on to grass this year was dire, with the youngster winning just two games to Viktor Troicki.

Ivo Karlovic can cause trouble for Berdych as eighth seed but beyond that, it is slim pickings in the second quarter of the draw. Karlovic plays Santiago Giraldo while young wildcard Alexander Zverev will face Jarkko Nieminen. Karlovic has made 4 grass finals in his career, with both titles coming at Nottingham.

After a lengthy injury lay off, Tommy Haas will play his second tournament in just over a year. He managed to win his opening match in Stuttgart last week over Mikhail Kukushkin. The two-time champion would be a live outsider with a bit more match sharpness but it seems too early for him to launch a run. He opens against Andreas Seppi with Tommy Robredo the first possible seed. Robredo plays his first non-Wimbledon grass court tournament since 2010, where he was a round two loser in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Fourth seed Gael Monfils has a 25-17 record but has never made a final on the surface. He matched his best of a SF for the third time in Stuttgart, losing to eventual winner Rafael Nadal. Czechs Lukas Rosol and likely Jiri Vesely stand between him and the quarter finals, with Vesely having beaten Monfils in the second round of Wimbledon last year. Vesely must first beat Mikhail Kukushkin to advance.

Alejandro Falla looks set for a major points loss, with the 2014 finalist unlikely to repeat his run of last year. The Colombian first had to qualify although he is fortunate enough to draw another qualifier in Lukas Lacko. Sixth seed Pablo Cuevas is there for the taking given he has played just three main tour matches on grass, going 1-2. 2013 Wimbledon semi finalist Jerzy Janowicz has a chance to make a run here with the way the draw has fell for him with both of these matches very winnable for the Pole.

Kei Nishikori may prove a step too far as the Japanese star looks set to bounce back from what was a disappointing French Open for him, with many touting this week’s second seed as a dark horse to win the trophy. He faces Dominic Thiem in round one, who lost to Mischa Zverev in Stuttgart. Meanwhile, another Austrian could await in round two but it seems unlikely that Andreas Haider Maurer can defeat Dustin Brown if the German brings his form of last year that saw him defeat Rafael Nadal.

Rafa Nadal bounced back from his Roland Garros quarter-final loss to Novak Djokovic with a solid performance in Germany, where he managed to capture the 2015 Stuttgart grass court tournament title, beating Serbia’s Viktor Troicki in the final. The Spaniard hit 11 aces on the way to his straight sets 7-6(3) 6-3 victory. This is his third Stuttgart title in total (the previous two being on clay).

Rafa will be competing at the Queen’s Club Championships in London this week, where he will face Alexandr Dolgopolov in the opening round.

Following a tough week with several rollercoaster contests on grass, Rafael Nadal is through to the final of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, where he will come compete for the third time, but the first time on grass. The Spaniard will come up against Serbia’s Viktor Troicki, whom he has faced on four previous occasions on the professional tour. He holds a 4-0 lead yet has not faced the Serb in five years.

For the first time since 2011, Nadal is through to the final of a grass court tournament, even though he was at risk of exiting the tournament from his opening match. In his semi-final contest, he defeated Gael Monfils in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 19 minutes to secure his place in the Mercedes Cup final.

“It’s a great feeling to be back in a final, especially on grass,” said Nadal. “It’s been since 2011, I didn’t play a final on grass. So it’s very good to be back and I think I’m playing well. It was a tough match but I played well against a very difficult opponent.

“He’s a charismatic player and does different things on court… I just tried to be ready and wait for my moment. I was solid with myself.”

While some expected Marin Cilic to make it through to the final, it was Troicki who defeated the US Open champion in three sets to set up his final against Nadal.

This marks the fifth time that Nadal and Troicki will cross paths on the professional tour, with the Spaniard leading the head-to-head series 4-0. However, this marks their first meeting in five years, which could mean the contest may be far different. In this particular case, it would not be surprising to see Nadal end up in another three-set contest.