Roger Federer snags Gerry Weber title, Dimitrov wins at Queen’s Club

Roger Federer won in Halle for the seventh time by defeating Alejandro Falla on Sunday while Grigor Dimitrov won a title on his third different surface this year at Queen's Club.

Roger Federer shown during his win in the ATP Gerry Weber Open final on Sunday in Halle, Germany. Oliver Krato / EPA / June 15, 2014

Switzerland’s Roger Federer won the Halle grasscourt tournament, the Gerry Weber Open, for the seventh time on Sunday with a 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/3) victory over Colombia’s Alejandro Falla.

Federer, 32, the defending champion and world No 4, was too powerful for the world No 69 as he claimed his second success of the season after Dubai in February.

It was Federer’s 79th career title – and 14th on grass – and provided the Swiss with a timely boost ahead of his bid for a record eighth Wimbledon crown in a weeks’ time.

“It is great to have won seven times here,” said Federer. “It is very special and I hope to come back here next year.”

“I really enjoy winning titles. It is what I play for, to play and receive a standing ovation at the end.

“I am very pleased with my performance. I work hard and travel the tour to win these titles and not lose in the quarters or semi-finals.

“With all the success I have had in the past, I need to aim for titles. I think I deserved the title this week.” continued the 17-time Grand Slam winner.

There was a break of serve in each set before Federer took control in the tie-breaks to seal victory in 88 minutes.

Falla, 30, failed in his bid for a first ATP title, a year after also losing his first final in Bogota.

Federer meanwhile hopes his record of following Halle with success at Wimbledon continues.

“In the past, when I have played well at Halle I have usually played well at Wimbledon.

“They have been two of my most successful tournaments, so I hope that this title will bring me luck again. Last year it didn’t work out, but it did many times before. So I hope it will be back to the good old days.

“I’m delighted with this victory and I hope I can continue to play well in the coming weeks,” said Federer, who had slumped to a fourth round exit against Latvian Ernests Gulbis in the French Open.

Later Sunday, Federer will play the doubles with his friend Marco Chiudinelli, which could see him miss the start of Switzerland’s World Cup opener against Ecuador in Brazil.

“I love football but I came here for tennis,” said Federer, a crowd favourite since his first Halle title in 2003 after defending his only title of 2013.

In England, meanwhile, Bulgarian fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov warmed up for Wimbledon by winning the Queen’s Club title with a 6-7 (8/10), 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (8/6) victory over Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in Sunday’s final.

Dimitrov’s maiden success on grass makes him the first player since Roger Federer and David Ferrer in 2012 to win titles on three different surfaces in the same year after his victories on hard courts in Acapulco and clay in Bucharest.

The world No 13, who was cheered on by girlfriend and French Open champion Maria Sharapova, is the first Bulgarian to win Queen’s and the fourth ATP trophy of his promising career will make him a dark horse for the title when Wimbledon gets underway later this month.

Dimitrov takes home a cheque for £74,654 (Dh465,212) and 250 ATP ranking points, but more importantly he has added to the feeling that he is finally fulfilling the vast potential that saw him compared to Federer when he was a teenager.

The 23-year-old, the youngest player in the top-20, has always felt at home at Queen’s ever since he was granted a wild card entry to the tournament five years ago when he was ranked a lowly 361.

And the former junior Wimbledon champion celebrated his victory over world No 29 Lopez by running to the side of the court to hand his racquet to Chris Kermode, the ATP President who gave Dimitrov that wild card during his time as Queen’s tournament director.

Dimitrov’s fluid movement and vast array of ground-strokes, which earned him the nickname ‘Baby Fed’ earlier in his career, were on full display against Lopez.

It was hard to believe that just two weeks ago he was at an all-time low after crashing out of the French Open first round against Ivo Karlovic, a painful defeat that prompted him to embark on soul-searching walks around London as he tried to recover his passion for the sport.

Evidently, the Queen’s grass has proved the perfect tonic. The Bulgarian had played superbly to brush aside world No 3 Stan Wawrinka in an emphatic straight sets victory in the semi-finals and this was another impressive win over an opponent who had been in superb form.

Lopez’s left-handed serve has been a problem none of his opponents could solve this week and he went into the final with a tournament-high 60 aces, having won 97 per cent of his service games.

The 32-year-old may have grown up on the clay courts of Spain, but his serve and volley tactics recalled the halcyon days of grasscourt tennis.

With Dimitrov’s serve also proving impregnable, the first set went to a tie-break, in which the Bulgarian saved three set points before Lopez finally converted the fourth.

There was little to separate them again in the second set, but Lopez suddenly had a match point when Dimitrov sent a forehand long at 5-6.

The Spaniard went for the kill on second serve, but his booming forehand crashed into the net to give Dimitrov a reprieve.

Energised by his narrow escape, Dimitrov blew Lopez away with some brilliant shot-making in a one-sided tie-break.

Lopez refused to buckle and immediately claimed the first break of the match.

However, Lopez’s nerve failed him with the title in reach and a double fault on break point allowed Dimitrov to draw level at 4-4.

It took another tie-break to decide a fascinating final and Dimitrov seized the moment, blasting a series of winners before falling to the turf in jubilation when Lopez fired a forehand into the net on match point.

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