Roger Federer survives major scare against Philipp Kohlschreiber in Halle
Tuesday 16 June 2015 21:40, UK
Roger Federer survived a major scare in the opening round of his favourite Wimbledon tune-up event, beating Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-6 (10-8) 3-6 7-6 (7-5) at the Gerry Weber Open on Monday.
Federer is seeking his eighth title in Halle, a grass-court tournament that is traditionally his preparation for Wimbledon, where he will be chasing a record eighth title later this month.
Federer admitted he was lucky, saying: "We were not happy with the draw. He could have won today and would have deserved it. I was lucky, although I'd already been thinking that this may not be my day."
Kohlschreiber broke serve twice compared to Federer's once, but the top-seeded Swiss showed his class in two tie-breaks to seal a victory in two hours and 11 minutes.
Top-seeded Federer added: "I know him well, we practice together, we know each other's game. The first round on grass is always difficult and complicated."
Croatia's Borna Coric also went the distance before seeing off American Donald Young, winning 6-4 3-6 6-3, as did Colombia's Alejandro Falla, who knocked out Slovakia's Lukas Lacko 6-4 3-6 6-1.
And, despite Kohlschreiber's loss, there were still minor upsets elsewhere as wildcards Dustin Brown, Alexander Zverev and Florian Mayer all enjoyed first-round wins.
Mayer is now one match away from reaching the Halle quarter-finals for a fifth time following a 6-2 0-6 7-6 (7-4) win over German wildcard Jan-Lennard Struff.
"On grass, it's all about one or two points," said Mayer.
"I could have won 6-3 in the third, then he played a few amazing points and suddenly it's 5-4, 15-30 on my serve.
"He hit a return with the frame right on the line and almost had match point. I could also have lost 6-4." he added
Watch Federer in action at Halle all this week live on Sky Sports. For more information head to www.skysports.com/watch/tennis-on-sky
