Roger Federer has won a record 17 Grand Slam titles and played in more than 1,000 tour matches, but even a champion of his standing can forget when he is on match point — as he showed at the Gerry Weber Open on Saturday.
With champion Federer on the verge of defeating Kei Nishikori to reach his ninth final at the Halle grass-court tournament, the world No. 4 suffered a moment of memory loss when his Japanese opponent clipped a backhand into the net on match point.
Federer quickly retreated to the baseline, unaware of his 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) triumph, while a confused Nishikori approached the net to shake hands, much to the amusement of the German crowd.
Photo: EPA
“It was the first time in my career in over a thousand matches,” a bemused Federer said of his faux pas after he set up a final with Colombia’s Alejandro Falla. World No. 69 Falla overcame home favorite Philipp Kohlschreiber 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.
Federer, chasing his seventh trophy in Halle, fired 10 aces against Nishikori.
The Japanese fourth seed offered some resistance in the second set, forcing a tie-break that he led 4-2, but the Swiss capitalized on some wayward hitting to win five points in a row and ease to victory.
Falla needed 2 hours, 21 minutes to defeat German Kohlschreiber.
Having lost the first set Falla, who has not beaten Federer in six attempts, fought back superbly against a player ranked 42 places above him to steal the next two sets and reach the second final of his career.
“I’m absolutely delighted. It was a very hard match,” Falla told reporters. “Grass is my favorite surface.”
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