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By Chris Oddo | Monday, June 15, 2015

 
Roger Federer, Halle 2015

Roger Federer slipped, slid and eventually worked his way to a tense triumph over former champion Philipp Kohlschreiber in Halle on Monday.

Photo Source: Thomas Starke/Bongarts/Getty

It was regarded as a tricky first-rounder for both, and Roger Federer and Philipp Kohlschreiber’s first-round encounter at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle proved to be just that—in more ways than one.

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For two hours and eleven minutes, the two adversaries pushed each other and were pushed by the soft, unsettled condition of the grass, until Federer eventually emerged victorious, 7-6(8), 3-6, 7-6(5).

Though riddled with minor setbacks in the form of slips and falls, Federer’s close shave on Monday continues a steady, solid trend: The Swiss won for the ninth time in nine career battles with Kohlschreiber, and he keeps alive his chances for an 8th Halle title in the process.

After saving two set points in the opener (one in the 12th game and one in the tiebreaker), Federer eventually claimed the first set when the German netted a forehand after a spirited rally.

But as both struggled to keep their balance on the slippery grass, the match tightened.


It was Kohlschreiber who handled the conditions better in the second set as he broke Federer and did not face a single break point on serve to force the decider. It was just the second time that Kohlschreiber had taken a set from Federer in their nine previous meetings.

In the decider both players had opportunities to break, but after the German saved two match points to level at 5-all, it looked and felt like an upset was brewing as Federer continued to struggle with his footing and looked unsure of himself in his first grass-court encounter or the season.

Kohlschreiber would take leads of 4-2 and 5-3 in the third-set tiebreaker, but Federer would reclaim the mini-break after a brilliant point that saw the German tumble to the grass as a Federer backhand slice flew past him, his lead evaporated.

After another wild point that saw Kohlschreiber miss an attempt at a miracle smash and wave his racquet in frustration, Federer converted his third match point when the German netted a second-serve return.

Federer improves to 132-19 lifetime on grass with the victory, and will next face either Ernests Gulbis or Sergiy Stakhovsky in the second round.

The seven-time Halle champion now owns a record of 47-5 at Halle. Kohlschreiber, the 2011 Halle champion, falls to 27-10 lifetime at the event.

 

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