Federer beats Sugita at Gerry Wrber Open to secure his eases1,100th ATP Tour win
Roger Federer produced a classy display to secure his 1,100th win on the ATP Tour against lucky loser Yuichi Sugita in the first round of the Gerry Weber Open.
A shock defeat in his Stuttgart opener against Tommy Haas forced Federer to wait for the milestone, but Sugita – who replaced the injured Lu Yen-hsun in the main draw – provided minimal resistance in a 6-3 6-1 victory for the Swiss.
The 18-time major champion needs 157 more victories in order to surpass Jimmy Connors’ all-time record of match wins at Tour level.
A single break in the first set proved enough for Federer – an eight-time champion in Halle – to open up an advantage he never looked in danger of relinquishing, his impressive groundstrokes making life extremely difficult for the Japanese.
That touch @rogerfederer #GerryWeberOpen pic.twitter.com/fGcHk6kXrY
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 20, 2017
Federer raced into a 5-0 lead in the second set but failed to serve out despite having three match points at 40-0 – a long and a wide forehand meaning Sugita avoided the bagel.
The Australian Open champion got the job done in the next game, however, setting up a second-round meeting against Mischa Zverev.
