World number one Roger Federer confirmed his status as favorite to defend his Wimbledon title later this month with a 6-0, 6-3 demolition of US sixth seed Mardy Fish on his way to successfully defending his title at the ATP grasscourt tournament in Halle, Germany on Sunday.
Big-serving Fish, the only man to take a set off Federer at Wimbledon last year, was unable to find his range against the top seeded Swiss player who passed him at the net time and again in the first set.
Fish, 22, put up some resistance in the second but was broken in the sixth game and went down to his fourth loss in as many meetings with Federer after 57 minutes on court.
"It was so easy it's even surprising," said 22-year-old Federer after winning his fifth title this season after the Australian Open, Dubai, Indian Wells and Hamburg and the 16th of his career.
"I'm happy to have been able to play solid tennis all week. I really enjoyed playing here. It's the best possible preparation for Wimbledon."
Stella Artois
Andy Roddick retained his Stella Artois title on Sunday with a 7-6 6-4 victory over Sebastien Grosjean -- a repeat of last year's final.
The top seed's triumph in 83 minutes gave him a 14th career title and his second on grass.
"Any time you win a tournament it's an all round good feeling," the 22-year-old smiled. "My big concern had been getting some grasscourt matches under my belt. I couldn't ask for better preparation for Wimbledon."
The two players were inseparable in the opening set, trading heavy groundstrokes from the baseline.
Grosjean, having served first, kept his nose ahead throughout and held two set points when Roddick fell 15-40 behind while trailing 6-5.
The US Open champion saved the first with an ace and Grosjean missed the second by millimetres when a whipped forehand flew just beyond the baseline.
Roddick grabbed the first mini-break of the tiebreak to lead 3-2 but by staying at the back of the court after his serve allowed Grosjean to work his way back into it, the Frenchman breaking back for 3-3 with a foray to the net.
The American inched ahead with a wrong-footing backhand behind Grosjean and then broke again for 5-4 when the fifth seed sailed a forehand long at the end of a long rally.
This time there was no way back. Roddick smashed an overhead for 6-4 and two set points of his own before thumping his 10th ace to wrap it up 9-7 in 48 minutes.
Edgbaston
Maria Sharapova warmed up for Wimbledon by capturing her third career title on Sunday, defeating France's Tatiana Golovin 4-6 6-2 6-1 at Edgbaston, Birmingham.
The two teenagers, who have a combined age of 33, battled for an hour and 44 minutes before third-seed Sharapova emerged victorious to collect her first title on grass.
The 17-year-old Sharapova won her first two crowns in Tokyo and Quebec City last year. Golovin, 16, was competing in her first WTA Tour final.
"In the first set she did everything right, she was just too good," said Sharapova.
"I was just lucky she couldn't do it the whole match. I just hung in there and played my game and in the end that was good enough."
Sharapova now takes a week off to prepare for Wimbledon. In this form the tall Russian, who is guaranteed a top 16 seeding, will be one of the floaters in the draw.
Former world No. 2 Paula Badosa has withdrawn from this week’s Wuhan Open, organizers said on Tuesday, amid a racism row over an online photograph. Tournament organizers said the Spaniard had pulled out of the WTA 1000 tournament, citing a gastrointestinal illness, hours before her first-round match against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic. News outlets including Britain’s the Telegraph earlier reported that Badosa had posted a photo on Instagram in which she appeared to imitate a Chinese face by placing chopsticks on the corners of her eyes. The photo was taken last week in a restaurant in Beijing, where she reached the semi-finals of the
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS