World No 5 warms up for Wimbledon with immaculate display of tennis in Germany
Sunday 25 June 2017 15:47, UK
Roger Federer produced a masterclass of a performance against a deflated Alexander Zverev to claim a record-extending ninth Gerry Weber Open title in Halle on Sunday.
In a battle of generations, it was Federer who turned back the clock to teach 20-year-old Zverev a lesson in grass-court tennis with an accomplished 6-1 6-3 victory in just 53 minutes as he laid down a marker in the lead-up to Wimbledon.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion, who skipped the clay court season after winning the Australian Open and titles in Indian Wells and Miami, to prepare for the grass campaign, looked in ominous form from the start and won the title without dropping a single set all week.
"It has been a difficult year with a lot of practice, training and rehab so I am very happy to be back on the court," Federer said.
"I do not know if I will ever be going to win this tournament again so I will enjoy this one," said the Swiss, who has won eight Wimbledon titles.
The 35-year-old, defeated in his first comeback match in Stuttgart last week, was aggressive from the start, breaking in the first game to take control and it wasn't long before he reeled off the opening set in 22 minutes.
Zverev, 20 and the youngest player in the world top 40, defeated Federer in three sets in the semi-finals here in 2016, but he was unable to cope with the Swiss star's service power and pacey groundstrokes.
A drop shot put Federer 5-2 ahead in the next and he sealed victory two games later on his first match point with a cross-court volley.
Federer has shown imperious form all week and he will next head into Wimbledon, which starts on July 3, as the favourite to win an outright record eighth title.
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