There is no stopping Feliciano Lopez on grass. The Spanish veteran continued his mastery of the surface in reaching a second straight final on Saturday at the Aegon Championships.
Lopez overcame 33 winners from Grigor Dimitrov and a lengthy rain delay to advance to the final 7-5, 3-6, 6-2. He claimed 87 per cent first-serve points and benefitted from 25 unforced errors by the Bulgarian. Having only been broken once all week (53/54 service games won), the Spaniard sets a final clash against fellow big-hitter Marin Cilic on Sunday.
A rematch of the 2014 final at The Queen’s Club, won by Dimitrov in three tie-breaks, Lopez finally got his revenge on an overcast and rainy Saturday afternoon. Runner-up at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart last week (l. to Pouille), he will contest his 17th ATP World Tour final and fifth on grass.
“You can imagine how important it is for me to be in the final of Queen’s at this stage of my career,” said Lopez. “It is one of the tournaments that you, first of all, you love. I was dreaming to play here. When I was younger I was watching Queen’s all the time and it’s one of those tournaments that you always want to play. For me, it’s so special to be in the final.
“This year hasn’t been great for me. I started the year with an injury in Australia. So it’s a gift for me to be again in a final, especially here.”
Lopez was relentless in attacking Dimitrov’s backhand in their semi-final encounter. The sixth seeded Bulgarian netted a backhand to give Lopez the first break of the match, as the Spaniard came in behind a low slice approach that hugged the Centre Court grass.
After dropping the opener, Dimitrov would answer back, striking a blazing winner down the line and forcing a Lopez error for the lone break in the second. But a two-hour rain delay early in the third set stopped his momentum and Lopez seized control. Dimitrov turned aside six break chances in the fourth game, but Lopez would claim the decisive break two games later and emerged with the win after two hours and two minutes.
“In the third set I played probably the best set of the week, to be honest, on my serve and also on the return,” added Lopez. “I was moving well, I was very aggressive, I had so many chances to break from the very beginning of the third set.
“I was aggressive enough with my serve and then I put so many balls in and I think he was feeling the pressure. I had so many chances. Finally I got the break at 4-2 and then the last one also to win the set.”
Lopez evened the FedEx ATP Head2Head series at two apiece, with three of their meetings having come at the Aegon Championships. He earned a first-round win in 2010, while Dimitrov countered with a final victory in 2014 and also triumphed at the Western & Southern Open last year.
Lopez, who improved to 71-37 on grass in his career, will vie for a sixth ATP World Tour title and third on his preferred surface. He previously lifted the trophy in Eastbourne in 2013-14.
Fourth seed Cilic carries a 5-2 edge over Lopez into Sunday’s final. They most recently met in the Roland Garros third round three weeks ago, with the Croatian winning in straight sets. He also took both their previous encounters at The Queen’s Club, in the 2013 second round and 2016 first round.
“I played him many times. I played him here last year and had a match point. I lost in the end. He’s been playing unbelievable. Today he beat Muller, one of the best players on grass. It’s a pretty impressive effort. I think Marin is also a great grass-court player. He plays good everywhere, but on grass he’s especially good. I have to keep it up with my level, with the way I’m playing, and wait for my chances.”
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| 2017 Aegon Championships final |
|---|
| Venue: Queen’s Club, London Dates: Sunday, 25 June Time: 14:00 BST |
| Coverage: Comprehensive live coverage on BBC One, BBC Two, Red Button, Connected TV and online |
Spain’s Feliciano Lopez saw off former champion Grigor Dimitrov to set up an Aegon Championships final against Croatian fourth seed Marin Cilic.
Unseeded Lopez beat Bulgarian sixth seed Dimitrov 7-5 3-6 6-2 in the second semi-final at Queen’s Club in London.
Cilic, the 2012 champion, earlier beat Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller 6-3 5-7 6-4.
Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares were trailing Cilic and Marcin Matkowski 1-6 5-3 in the doubles semi-finals when play was suspended because of rain.
Cilic, aiming to become the first man since Pete Sampras in 1995 to win both the singles and doubles titles, faces playing three matches on Sunday.
The singles final at 14:00 BST will be followed by the conclusion of the doubles semi-final, and then the doubles final.
Rain affected play for the first time at Queen’s Club this week, with the first semi-final delayed briefly and the second then interrupted by 45 minutes in the second set.
Lopez, 35, led by a set at that stage and went on to gain some measure of revenge for his heartbreaking defeat by Dimitrov in the 2014 final by seeing out a three-set win.
The Spaniard, who held a match point in the final three years ago, grabbed the only break of the opening set when he forced an error from Dimitrov at 6-5.
An early chance to take command of the second set disappeared with a wayward backhand, and it was Dimitrov who was pushing for the break when the rain arrived.
Lopez, possibly feeling the effects of a long match against Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych the previous evening, was under pressure as his first-serve percentage slipped to 51%.
A rasping backhand winner helped Dimitrov break and he rattled through three of four games to level at one set all.
Lopez dominated the final set, however, missing out on six break points in a 10-minute game at 2-1 before finally converting his eighth chance for a decisive 4-2 lead.
“I’m so happy to be in the final here at one of the most special tournaments for me,” said Lopez, the world number 32.
“I’ve wanted to win this tournament so much for my whole career and tomorrow I have another chance. I feel very pleased.”
Cilic, 28, proved the better returner as he saw off 34-year-old Muller in a battle of the big servers to reach his third Queen’s Club final.
Both men saw their unbeaten run on service games this week end, but the Croat’s ability to create chances on the return made the difference, albeit only just.
Cilic converted two of 13 break points, and was broken for the first time this week – after five hours and 12 minutes on court – to drop the second set.
However, he made the decisive move midway through the final set with a fizzing return at Muller’s toes to edge 4-3 ahead and served his way to victory.
“Today’s match was an extremely high level,” said Cilic.
“I was playing really, really good throughout all the match and Gilles was pushing me to the limit. I was mixing it up really well and just playing really smart in some critical points.
“It was not easy to keep calm after missing all the break points that I had in that second set, and then losing it.”
John Lloyd, former British number one:
Cilic serves so well and I like the way he backs up his serve now. He’s very aggressive, standing inside the baseline.
He’s not afraid to volley, he moves well, his return of serve is excellent and I like his attitude here too. Right at the beginning of the match he was fist pumping.
He’s in form, he knows it and he’s desperate to win this tournament again.
Lopez is in as good a form as he’s been in his career I would say, the way he’s hitting the ball.
He’s managing the points and games so well, and the fight he showed there, the way he upped his service percentage in the third set when he must have been tired.
What a wonderful performance from Lopez and what a final we have against Cilic.
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Watch five of the best shots as Feliciano Lopez beats Grigor Dimitrov 7-5 3-6 6-2 to set up a Queen’s final against Marin Cilic.
Jersey’s Scott Clayton has been given a wildcard for the main draw of the men’s doubles at Wimbledon 2017, alongside his British partner Jonny O’Mara.
It will be a first senior Wimbledon appearance for Clayton, 23, ranked at number 253 in the world for doubles.
Guernsey’s Heather Watson – a defending Wimbledon champion in the mixed doubles – was given a wildcard to the ladies’ singles main draw earlier in June.
“When I got the call I couldn’t believe it,” Clayton told BBC Radio Jersey.
“Yes, I believe I’m the first player from Jersey to be involved in the Championships. I played there as a junior but to be there as a pro player on the tour, it’s incredible.”
Yorkshire-born O’Mara, 22, who lives in Scotland, recently played with Clayton at the Aegon Open, Nottingham.
On 21 June, Britain’s Marcus Willis – who qualified for the main singles draw in 2016 – was awarded a wildcard for the doubles with his partner Jay Clarke.
Since then, as well as Clayton and O’Mara, Britain’s Brydan Klein and Joe Salisbury have also received doubles wildcards along with Australian pair Thanasi Kokkinakis and Jordan Thompson, plus British brothers Ken and Neal Skupski.
There’s no place quite like Halle for Roger Federer. The Swiss star will play in an 11th Gerry Weber Open final on Sunday after having to battle past #NextGenATP Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-6(5) in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Federer will go for his ninth title in the German city, which would mark the first time he has won a tournament as many times. The 35-year-old Swiss first reached the Halle final in 2003, beating German Nicolas Kiefer for the crown.
But Federer hasn’t played for the trophy at the ATP World Tour 500 tournament since 2015. On Sunday, he will meet either #NextGenATP German Alexander Zverev or Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
Federer lost to Zverev in last year’s Halle semi-finals but beat the German last year in Rome. Federer leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Gasquet 15-2.
The World No. 5 has yet to drop a set in Halle this week. He improved his all-time record at the tournament to 58-6 and is 23-2 on the season. Federer has reached the final in four of his six tournaments this year.
Roger Federer Wins By Tournament
|
87 |
Australian Open |
|
84 |
Wimbledon |
|
78 |
US Open |
|
65 |
Roland Garros |
|
61 |
Basel |
|
58 |
Halle |
|
57 |
Indian Wells |
|
52 |
Nitto ATP Finals |
|
50 |
Miami |
|
42 |
Cincinnati |
Federer had never faced the 21-year-old Khachanov before Saturday, but the big-hitting right-hander, who was trying to reach his second ATP World Tour final (2016 Chengdu), was unintimidated against the all-time great.
The two exchanged breaks to start the match but Federer broke once more and rode the early advantage to a one-set lead. Neither player could break in the early goings of the second set as Khachanov was freely blasting forehands and Federer was stepping into his backhand and flattening out the one-hander.
At 4-4, Federer broke Khachanov for a chance to serve for the match, but Khachanov broke right back when a Federer forehand pass sailed wide. The 6’6” Khachanov even had two set points on Federer’s serve at 5-6 but was unable to convert either.
In the tie-break, Federer clinched his 11th final appearance when Khachanov lifted a backhand long on match point.
Watch five of the best shots as Marin Cilic wins his semi-final against Gilles Muller at Queen’s 6-3 5-7 6-4.