Top seed Roger Federer dominated Alexander Zverev in straight sets to win the Gerry Weber Open for the ninth time on Sunday in Halle, Germany.
The 35-year-old Swiss star warmed up for Wimbledon, which starts in eight days, with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over fourth-seeded Zverev of Germany to claim his 92nd career title.
Federer won 26 of 28 of his first-serve points, clinching his 16th grass-court title after only 53 minutes with a backhand volley winner.
“I played unbelievably well. I felt good and never let up,” Federer, playing in his 140th career final, said afterward. “It was my best game this week. Nearly everything worked out for me.”
Federer joins Rafael Nadal as the only two men in the Open Era who have won a tournament more than eight times. Nadal has won 10 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and French Open titles.
Federer, who is No. 5 in the world, improves to 4-0 in title matches this season, having won the Australian Open, the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Miami Open. He and Nadal are now tied for the most wins this season.
“It’s great to get off to a good start in the finals and then remind yourself that you’ve been playing good tennis all week,” said Federer, who dropped just nine points on his serve. “You start swinging freely, things start clicking, you realize your opponent is under pressure and you keep pressuring him.
“I’m like on cloud nine right now after the ninth win here in Halle. It’s a wonderful feeling to win here again because I’m not sure if I’ll ever get a chance to win this again so it’s important to enjoy this one.”
Federer put aside any question about his long layoff affecting his grass-court season. He took off 10 weeks after winning the Miami title on April 2.
Federer, who won the Australian Open in January for his 18th Grand Slam title, decided to skip the clay-court season, including the French Open, to prepare for the grass and hard-court seasons, with his eye on Wimbledon, where he is a seven-time champion.
After losing in his return on June 14 to Tommy Haas in Stuttgart, Germany, Federer checked off five consecutive victories. The Stuttgart defeat was the first time Federer had lost his opening match at a grass-court tournament since 2002 Wimbledon.
“I was doubting myself a little bit, I must admit, because losing (in the opening) round for the first time in 15 years on grass was always going to shake me a little bit and it did,” Federer said. “So I’m happy to react right away and let that be forgotten and actually move on and remind myself I actually can play well on grass. It’s a boost for me personally, with my confidence, knowing that my body is in good shape. Mentally, I’m fresh again and I’ve gotten used to match play.”
The 20-year-old Zverev also had been 3-0 in title matches this season before Sunday, winning in Montpellier, Munich and Rome, where he beat world No. 2 Novak Djokovic for his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title. Zverev also beat Federer only a year ago in Halle, outlasting Federer in a three-set semifinal to reach the 2016 final.
But Zverev, ranked No. 12, had no answer for Federer’s aggressive play and near perfect execution.
“I think Roger is playing really, really well,” Zverev said. “I think going into Wimbledon he’s going to be probably the favorite to win the whole thing. So credits to him, he played an unbelievable match. Of course I could have played better but he didn’t really let me play my best tennis. He messed with the ball a lot. He played very aggressive. … He deserved to win.”
“It was a very good week for me again making the finals here. Of course I’m upset with the loss, but going into Wimbledon I feel very confident I can make a deep run there.”
Federer’s 92nd title moves him to within two of Ivan Lendl for second on the Open Era titles list.
Lopez stuns Cilic to win Queen’s Club title
Feliciano Lopez reached one of his career goals on Sunday when the 35-year-old dispatched fourth-seeded Marin Cilic to win the Aegon Championships at The Queen’s Club in London.
The left-hander survived two tiebreaks while rallying to a 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (8) victory to record his sixth career ATP title.
Making the victory sweeter for Lopez was the realization that he really did prevail at The Queen’s Club.
“It’s the best week of my career, I would say,” Lopez told reporters following the match. “To win this tournament at this stage of my career, this is so amazing. I was waiting so long to win this title. Queen’s is the best. Outside of the Grand Slams, this is one of the most special tournaments.
“You feel the atmosphere here, all over the years, a tradition that this tournament, the players that have won in the past. For me to be here on Sunday holding the trophy, it’s the best feeling I can have.”
Some good fortune opened the door for the unseeded Lopez as the top three seeds — Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and Milos Raonic — all lost their first-round matches.
Lopez posted solid upsets along the way by defeating seventh-seeded Tomas Berdych and sixth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov before fighting off another high seed in Cilic in the final.
In fact, some demons from 2014 emerged while Lopez was serving for the match. He was in the same position at The Queen’s Club that year in the final against Dimitrov and lost the point and eventually lost the match.
“It was tough to put that match out of my mind,” Lopez said. “I was serving for the match again. It was tough to handle my nerves.”
This time Lopez got it done as Cilic’s errant forehand in the third-set tiebreak ended the two-hour, 32-minute match.
Cilic delivered more aces (22 to 19) but lost the momentum he had in the opening set. Lopez took advantage to continue his recent stretch of stellar tennis.
“I am probably playing my best tennis,” Lopez said. “It is hard to believe when you are 35 years old.
“I am so happy. This is the best preparation to go into Wimbledon next week. It is a great feeling.”
Cilic was aiming for his second Queen’s Club crown. He won the title in 2012.
“Looking at the whole week, it was great tennis for me,” Cilic said. “I have to say maybe one of the best grass-court tournaments for me overall throughout my career, looking at the consistency of my game. I lost only once my serve during the whole week, which is amazing, considering last week I didn’t lose serve in Netherlands, too. That makes it even better.
“Looking at my game, I’m feeling great on the court, moving well, playing well. I was even today against Feliciano making more pressure on him, on his service games than what he did on mine. That’s another plus. So overall, I’m feeling really satisfied and I think I need just now a few days to recover mentally. Then I can continue with good form.”
As for Lopez, being referred to as a Queen’s Club championship seemed a bit surreal.
“I cannot believe I have finally won this tournament,” Lopez said. “I have wanted to win this for 15 or 16 years.
Kvitova rallies in comeback to take Aegon Classic title
Petra Kvitova, playing in her second tournament since a career-threatening stabbing attack six months ago in a home invasion, rallied from a set down to defeat Ashleigh Barty and claim the Aegon Classic title on Sunday in Birmingham, England.
The seventh-seeded Czech, who started her remarkable comeback at the French Open last month, defeated Barty of Australia 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The 27-year-old Kvitova, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014, was viciously attacked by a knife-wielding man on Dec. 20 during a robbery attempt in her Czech Republic home. The incident caused major injuries to her racket-holding left hand as she fought off the intruder. She underwent nearly four hours of surgery on her left hand and forearm, and her left hand is still not fully recovered.
Kvitova’s last final on grass had been her triumph at Wimbledon three years ago.
“I like to play finals on grass. I wish I could have more. I won’t be sad if it is in a couple of weeks (at Wimbledon) but there is still a lot of work to be done,” Kvitova said in her on-court interview.
“It was an amazing week, an amazing tournament. From my first hits on the grass I felt great, it was encouraging to get into the grass season. I came to play, to improve my game, I didn’t really have any expectation. I wanted to play my best which I showed today and I hope I can keep doing that.”
Kvitova, the world No. 16, rolled into the final without dropping a set in Birmingham.
The 21-year-old Barty, who upset sixth-seeded Spaniard Garbine Muguruza in three sets on Saturday to reach her second final of the season, made a strong start against Kvitova as she broke to lead 2-1 in the opening set and carried her advantage through to claim the opener.
Kvitova then stepped up her game, racing out to a 5-1 lead in the second set and dominating in the decider to take the title after one hour, 47 minutes.
Kvitova, swinging freely from the baseline, struck 35 winners to just 25 unforced errors, hit 13 aces and converted five of eight break-point opportunities.
“It’s so amazing to have Petra back on the court. She’s such an inspiration,” Barty, ranked No. 77, said afterward. “She’s always been a great champion but I think we appreciate that more now that she’s back playing week-in and week-out. Hopefully she is able to stay healthy and doesn’t have any more issues and I hope she has a really successful season.
“I think we have to be very happy with where the game is at. I’ve played some quality tennis and lost to only a couple of good players. So I’m really excited and I can’t wait to get to Wimbledon.
Sevastova wins Mallorca Open for first title since 2010
Anastasija Sevastova won her first WTA title since 2010 when she defeated Julia Goerges 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Sunday in the championship match of the Mallorca Open in Spain.
The 27-year-old from Latvia was a finalist in Mallorca last year before falling to Caroline Garcia, but she was able to outplay Goerges in a two-hour, 14-minute match.
“I won, but it was a tough match,” the second-seeded Sevastova said afterward. “I hope the tournament will be back here next year.”
Sevastova is reviving her career after injuries helped her lose the love for tennis in 2013, leading to leaving the tour for 1 1/2 years. She returned in 2015, citing that she missed the big stages and had learned perspective about how there is life outside of tennis.
Now she is displaying that she is having fun on the court and her play at Mallorca backed that up.
“I’ve known you a long time, and there were some years when you told me you didn’t want to play tennis anymore, and now here we are,” Goerges told Sevastova during the trophy ceremony. “I’m so glad I was able to play this final against you because I think you’re a great player. I’m so happy you’re back in tennis, but hopefully you’ll let me win next time, and play many more finals together.”
Goerges, from Germany, played well in the second set to even the match but Sevastova controlled the final set with her serve. Goerges hit 32 winners but was plagued by 25 unforced errors.
Sevastova had 17 winners against just 10 unforced errors while winning her second career title. She is projected to rise to No. 13 when the new world rankings are released on Monday