By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Roger Federer reached a milestone in Halle, thrashing lucky loser Yuichi Sugita, 6-3, 6-1, to score his 1,100th career victory.
Photo credit: Gerry Weber Open
Lawn tennis reminds us of the tennis life cycle. Grass is the only surface that grows and dies during a tournament.
Roger Federer continues to construct a lasting legacy on the lively lawn.
More: Raonic, Wawrinka Fall at Queen's Club
Launching his quest for a ninth Halle title in style, Federer flew past lucky loser Yuichi Sugita, 6-3, 6-1, landing a milestone.
The top-seeded Swiss scored his 1,100th career victory—second on the ATP all-time wins list behind record-holder Jimmy Connors (1,256).
The owner of 15 grass-court titles raised his career record on lawn to 153-24.
The serve and first strike set the tone. Federer served 69 percent, hit eight aces and won 26 of 29 first-serve points setting up a round of 16 clash with left-handed German Mischa Zverev, who beat qualifier Lukas Lacko, 6-4, 6-4. Federer swept Zverev in the Australian Open quarterfinals in January following a 6-0, 6-0, demolition in the 2013 Hall quarterfinals.
The fifth-ranked Federer was scheduled to face Yen-Hsun Lu in today’s opener, but Lu withdrew with a right arm injury giving Sugita his first shot at the 35-year-old Swiss.
Straddling the baseline and swatting his forehand into all areas of the court, Federer forced the 66th-ranked Japanese to counter off his back foot when he wasn’t speeding around the greener edges of the lawn chasing down drives.
The Australian Open champion cranked heavy forehands battering out the first break for 3-1.
Rapping an ace that left his opponent lunging at air, Federer backed up the break at love.
The slender Sugita can counter with accurate strikes on the run. He showed that skill defeating Aussie Jordan Thompson to win the Aegon Surbiton trophy title on grass earlier this month.
While Thompson was busy shocking world No. 1 Andy Murray at Queen’s Club today, Sugita was scrambling to stay alive against Federer.
Threading the needle with a fine running forehand pass down the line, Sugita held for 2-4.
Moving fluidly and playing quickly, Federer’s lone speed bump in the opener came when he served for the first set. From 15-30 down, Federer reeled off three points in a row pounding out his fifth ace to seize the 21-minute opening set.
Federer won 20 of 24 points played on his serve in the first set. That first set close sparked a run of seven straight games for the 2015 champion.
The pair engaged in some riveting exchanges to start the second set with Federer converting his third break point to open the set.
The willingness to step into the court and drive his one-handed backhand with authority helped Federer rally past rival Rafael Nadal to his 18th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year.
With coach Ivan Ljubicic, who owned an exquisite one-hander, watching from from his court-side box, Federer crunched the backhand drive with confidence and mixed in the short chip to drag the baseliner forward.
With the roof closed over center court, the sound of Federer's heavy baseline strikes reverberated throughout the arena. It was an ominous sound for his opponent.
Treating Sugita’s second serve with disdain, Federer won 10 of 14 points played on the Japanese’s second serve in the second set, breaking four times.
Drilling a diagonal forehand, Federer broke again for a 5-0 lead.
The eight-time champion’s only mis-step came in the sixth game when he squandered three match points and 40-love lead. Sugita smacked a forehand crosscourt breaking back for 1-5.
Shrugging it off, Federer came right back breaking again to seal a 52-minute thrashing and raise his Halle record to 55-6.