Roger Federer's preparation for the Wimbledon and his hunt for a ninth title at the Halle Open is set to continue on Friday as he is up against defending champion Florian Mayer next. The grass court season did not start the way Federer would have wanted as he suffered an early exit at the Stuttgart Open but the Swiss looks like he is back to his best now.
Federer has not been troubled at all so far at the Halle Open as he eased passed Yuichi Sugita 6-3, 6-1 in the first round. He faced Mischa Zverev in the next round and the German also proved to be no match for him as he finished him off in straight sets.
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After his win against Zverev, Federer said he had not felt this good since he competed at the Miami Open earlier this year and described that as a good sign going ahead in the grass court season. He said Zverev put him under pressure early on in the match but once he broke him he felt a little relaxed and played the way he wanted to.
When asked about his quarter-final opponent, the Australian Open 2017 winner described him as a tough customer.
"I think he's most dangerous on the grass. He's a tough customer, plus he's the defending champion. He hasn't had the best season so far, so there is a lot riding on the match for him as well as for me because we both want to go deep into this tournament," ATP's official website quoted Federer as saying.
As for the defending champion, Mayer has not had the best of seasons so far. The German has been a disappointment in every tournament he has played so far and has not managed to get past the second round in any of them. His match against Federer on Friday is the best he has performed so far this year and he will have to be better than his best if he is to cause an upset.
The German had an easy first round match against Benoit Paire as he defeated him 6-0, 6-4 and was up against another Frenchman in Lucas Pouille and that proved to be a tougher match. Mayer gave up a 5-3 lead in the opening set and went on to lose it in the tie breaker but he fought back hard in the next two sets to claim the win.
Federer and Mayer have met on seven occasions before this and the Swiss tennis master has won all their matches. So it would be a big surprise if he does not win on Friday. Three of those seven wins came at the Halle Open in 2005, 2012 and 2015, and while Mayer is certainly a better player since then it's hard to see him defeating Federer.
Where to watch
The Gerry Weber Open quarter-finals match between Roger Federer and Florian Mayer is scheduled to start at around 3:00pm local time, 6:30pm IST and 2:00pm BST.
TV and live streaming information
India: TV:Sony ESPN. Live streaming: Sony Liv
USA: TV: Fox Sports, Tennis channel. Live streaming: Tennis channel
Canada: TV: RDS, TSN
South Africa: TV: Super Sport. Live streaming: Super Sport live streaming
International live streaming: ATP official website (Subscription needed)
