Roger Federer on Tuesday opened his Gerry Weber Open title defense by seeing off Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia 6-3, 6-4.
The world No. 1 broke No. 72nd-ranked Bedene at the first attempt and again for 5-4 in the second set to wrap up the win.
Fresh from winning his 18th grass-court title in Stuttgart, Germany, on Sunday, Federer dropped just four points on his serve and forced seven break opportunities, taking two.
Federer made his comeback in Stuttgart after skipping the entire clay-court season for the second year in a row, and again he looked sharp as he extended his grass-court winning streak to 17 matches, including his titles at Halle and Wimbledon last year.
The Swiss great is just five match wins away from matching Jimmy Connors’ all-time record of 174 victories on grass. Federer’s winning percentage is better, with 169 wins and 24 loses, compared with Connors’ record of 174-34.
Federer is bidding for a record-extending 10th title in Halle, which would be his fourth of the season and 99th overall.
Two-time finalist Alexander Zverev was upset by Borna Coric 6-1, 6-4.
The second-seeded German wore a bandage after tearing a muscle in his left thigh during his quarter-final run at Roland Garros, and he said the injury was holding him back.
“At first I was afraid that I couldn’t play at all in Halle or Wimbledon,” Zverev said.
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece upset fifth-seeded Lucas Pouille 6-2, 7-6 (7/3), while former title winner Philipp Kohlschreiber progressed against Marton Fucsovics.
There were also first-round wins for Andreas Seppi, Florian Mayer, Matthew Ebden, Karen Khachanov and Benoit Paire.
HSIEH ADVANCES: In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei was to play in the second round last night, but Taiwan’s Ray Ho exited in the men’s doubles It is more than 10 years since Grigor Dimitrov reached his sole Wimbledon semi-final and back then it still seemed a reasonable bet that the Bulgarian once dubbed “Baby Federer” would win a Grand Slam title. There were semi-final runs at the US Open and Australian Open after that, but it has never quite happened and despite him still being ranked No. 21, it most likely never will. Dimitrov, 34, remains one of the most stylish players on the circuit though, with his elegant single-handed backhand and smooth all-court game a rare reminder of how tennis was before the power merchants turned
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
Real Madrid’s FIFA Club World Cup quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund had taken three crazy turns during nine minutes of second-half stoppage time when Marcel Sabitzer chested the ball and sent a right-footed volley toward Thibaut Courtois’ post. Courtois leapt to his right, extended the long arm on his 2m frame and just managed to get his gloved fingertips on the ball, knocking it down. Courtois hit the ground as the ball bounded up. He looked skyward, planted his right hand to regain his balance, grabbed the ball with both hands on the second bounce and fell onto it with his chest. Sabitzer turned
INJURY TURMOIL: Despite stunning French Open champions Paolini and Errani to advance, Chan was forced to pull out after her partner’s tearful women’s singles defeat Last year’s mixed doubles champions Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Poland’s Jan Zielinski on Monday crashed out of the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, leaving the Taiwanese star focused on pursuing a fifth women’s doubles title in London, while a partner injury forced compatriot Chan Hao-ching to give up on her doubles campaign. Hsieh and Zielinksi, who last year also won the Australia Open title, narrowly lost their opening set 7-6 (9/7), before Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Brazil’s Luisa Stefani stunned the former champions 6-3 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. The Taiwanese-Polish duo had been dominant in the first two
RSS