Roger Federer wins tenth Halle title - David Goffin without a chance
Roger Federer won his tenth title at the ATP lawn tournament in Halle on Sunday. The Swiss defeated David Goffin confidently in two sets with 7: 6, 6: 1 and secured his 102nd tournament victory on the ATP tour.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jun 23, 2019, 03:06 pm
Both started safely in their own service games before Federer suddenly found himself 0:40 at 2-2. But the veteran pulled his head out of the noose, denied Goffin's break chances and played himself into a tie break.
There, Federer quickly pulled away to 5: 1 with two mini-breaks and could no longer take advantage. Goffin's resistance seemed broken, he started the second set with a loss of serve and never recovered from the setback.
"I had a good chance in the first set, which was very intense. But you have to take the chances against Federer. I congratulate him, he was clearly stronger in the second set," said Goffin.
Roger Federer is the oldest tournament winner for over 40 years
Federer, who won 83 percent of the points after the first serve (Goffin: 66%), is the oldest player to have won a title on the tour since Ken Rosewall won the Hong Kong tournament in 1977 at the age of 43. Only Nadal has triumphed more in the same tournament than Federer in Halle.
"David was actually better in the first ten games. Maybe then he looked for the lines too much, but that's how it goes on the pitch. I can hardly believe that one day I can talk about my tenth tournament victory," said Federer the lot.
"He is a fair player and a good guy. I hope that he will soon make it into the top 10 again because tennis players like that."
Federer is the first player to win three ATP titles in calendar year 2019. He is only seven trophies away from Jimmy Connors' best record. At Wimbledon, Federer is now number two. He escapes a possible semi-final with Novak Djokovic, but could face number three on the seed list there, Rafael Nadal.
Federer received prize money of 429,955 euros.