Teenager Alexander Zverev caused a major shock as he beat eight-time winner and top seed Roger Federer in the ATP Gerry Weber semifinals here on Saturday.
Error-strewn Federer’s vulnerability on his favourite surface could perhaps be explained by a back injury that made the 34-year-old miss last month’s French Open, but this was not the build-up to Wimbledon that the Swiss ace wanted.
The 19-year-old Zverev triumphed 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-3 to reach only his second ATP Tour final after being beaten by Dominic Thiem on clay in Nice last month.
The German could yet meet World No. 7 Thiem, 22, in the final again this time as the Austrian faces another home player in Florian Mayer in Saturday’s second semifinal.
The veteran Federer won the last three Halle Open tournaments but he met his match in the spirited World No. 38.
Second semifinal loss Just over a week before the start of Wimbledon, it was the second semifinal defeat in a row on grass for the World No. 3 after Thiem beat him in Stuttgart last week.
Federer hasn’t won a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2012, and given the form of Novak Djokovic, Federer’s current level would unlikely see that run come to an end. Zverev is already guaranteed to improve his career-high ranking in Monday’s new list to inside the top 30.
The results:
At London: ATP Aegon championships: Semifinals: Andy Murray bt Marin Cilic 6-3, 4-6, 6-3; Milos Raonic bt Bernard Tomic 6-4, 6-4. Quarterfinals: Milos Raonic bt Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-4; Bernard Tomic bt Gilles Muller 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-2.
At Halle: ATP Gerry Weber Open: Semifinals: Alexander Zverev bt Roger Federer 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-3; Florian Mayer bt Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4. Quarterfinal: Mayer bt Andreas Seppi 7-6(4), 6-3.
