Halle Westfalen (Germany): Roger Federer stepped up his grass game to hold off Australian Matt Ebden 7-6 (7/2), 7-5 in their quarterfinal at the Halle Tennis tournament here Friday.
With his World No. 1 ranking on the line, the Swiss is sparing no effort to make sure he lifts a 10 title at the event, Sunday. The first set was decided in a tie-breaker while the Swiss had to twice recover from a break down in the second to secure a tight victory in 88 minutes.
Federer set up match point with a flicked backhand pass and then sealed his semifinal spot as Ebden returned long. The victory was the 18th in a row on grass for the 36-year-old Federer.
Ebden did not make it easy for Federer, staying with the Swiss into the first set tie-breaker. The Aussie double-faulted to hand over four set points but one was enough as Federer hit a backhand service return winner.
In the second set, Ebden broke Federer twice and served for the set at 5-4 only for the Swiss to break back for a second time. After Federer held to love he then broke Ebden again to finish the match by winning four straight games.
Federer will next take on American qualifier Denis Kudla, who scored the best grass victory of his career as he beat Japan’s Yuichi Sugita 6-2, 7-5.
Results
Roger Federer bt Matt Ebden 7-6 (7/2), 7-5
Denis Kudla bt Yuichi Sugita 6-2, 7-5