Tennis

Federer edges closer to world number one after Pella victory

Roger Federer edged closer to regaining world number one status as he strolled into the Stuttgart Open semi-finals with victory over Guido Pella.

The eight-time Wimbledon champion looked rusty in the opening set of his match with Mischa Zverev on Wednesday, but eventually found his rhythm to progress in three.

Getting past Pella was a much more straightforward task for the top seed as the graceful Federer cruised to a 6-4 6-4 victory in 66 minutes.

Federer is now one win away from reclaiming top spot in the rankings from Rafael Nadal, the 20-time grand slam winner only needing to reach the final to climb to number one.

Slice up your life…

Dreamy, @rogerfederer #MercedesCup pic.twitter.com/g6p0kaP0Fc

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 15, 2018
From the outset Federer looked much more assured than he did against Zverev, the appearance of his elegant backhand in game seven a sure sign his levels were high.

That shot down the line proved too good for his Argentine opponent and brought up the first break points of Friday’s clash – Pella saving the first before Federer converted a crisp cross-court forehand.

Having consolidated the break, Federer quickly moved a set ahead with a service game to love, Pella failing to even get a glimmer of an opening on his rivals serve.

Pella’s resistance had been dented and Federer wasted no time piercing another hole in his defence, the world number 75 falling 2-0 down at the start of the second set.

Federer continued to serve with power and precision, Pella only able to apply any kind of pressure when trailing 4-3.

His first break points of the match came with Federer serving for the win, the 36-year-old swatting them away with ease before the return of that trademark backhand sealed a 14th consecutive win on grass and a last-four berth.

What do you think?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Related Articles

Back to top button
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x