Top seed Roger Federer on Thursday beat Germany’s Mischa Zverev 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 to advance to the last eight of the Gerry Weber Open as the 18-time Grand Slam champion sharpens his grass-court game ahead of Wimbledon.
Federer, who skipped the entire clay-court season after winning the Australian Open and claiming titles at Indian Wells and Miami this year, is next to play defending champion Florian Mayer, who beat Frenchman Lucas Pouille in three sets.
The Swiss, who lost his first comeback match in Stuttgart last week, is still lacking some game sharpness and squandered three set points at 5-4 in the first set of an entertaining serve-and-volley encounter.
He persisted and carved out two more, winning the tiebreak by whipping a crosscourt backhand winner on his fourth set point.
Zverev’s erratic first serve was a liability and Federer pounced again at 4-4 in the second set to break the German, whose younger brother Alexander is through to the quarter-finals, and served out the match.
World No. 9 Kei Nishikori’s own Wimbledon preparations suffered a setback when he was forced to retire injured for the third straight time at this tournament.
The third seed needed to take a medical time-out against Karen Khachanov to treat a back injury before playing on for a few points and retiring with the Russian leading 3-2 in the first set.
Khachanov is now to play fellow Russian Andrey Rublev, who earlier beat Mikhail Youzhny.
AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPS
AP, LONDON
The unheralded Australians who blew open the draw at the Aegon Championships with first-round wins over Andy Murray and Milos Raonic came back down to earth on Thursday.
Jordan Thompson, a last-minute injury replacement in the field, and Thanasi Kokkinakis, ranked No. 698, both lost in the second round, but will take home lasting memories from the Wimbledon warm-up.
Thompson, ranked No. 90, failed to follow up his huge upset of the top-ranked Murray in straight sets on Tuesday, losing to the US’ Sam Querrey 7-6 (7/3), 3-6, 6-3.
Kokkinakis, who dispatched Raonic — last year’s runner-up at Wimbledon and Queen’s — also in straight sets, was beaten by Daniil Medvedev of Russia 6-2, 6-2.
Fourth-seeded Marin Cilic avoided becoming the latest high-profile player to depart early by beating Stefan Kozlov 6-0, 6-4 and is to play another American, Donald Young, in the last eight.
Feliciano Lopez was the last player through to the quarter-finals after beating Jeremy Chardy 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
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