Federer triumphs in Stuttgart, Gasquet beats Chardy for ‘s-Hertogenbosch title

Roger Federer won the 98th title of his career on Sunday afternoon, beating Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(3) in the Mercedes Cup final.

For those counting, yes, that means Wimbledon could be title No. 100 for Federer if he also triumphs this coming week in Halle.

The latest success for the 36-year-old Swiss came following another two-month absence, as he skipped the clay-court swing just as he did in 2017. This time around, though, Federer did not lose right away in Stuttgart. Erasing the memories of an opening setback against Tommy Haas last summer, the top seed completed a four-match run featuring defeats of Mischa Zverev, Guido Pella, Nick Kyrgios, and Raonic.

In Sunday’s championship match, Federer fought off both of the break points he faced, struck four aces without double-faulting, and withstood 14 aces off the Raonic racket.

“I’m really happy,” the 20-time major champion assured. “I thought it was a good final from my side. I think I played very well throughout the tournament, actually, having not played for a while. It’s a great comeback for me. Maybe I was a little bit better (than Raonic) on the bigger points.

“Of course I’m so happy to have won here, finally, in Stuttgart. It’s been difficult the last [couple of] years; (I) lost a [couple of] tight matches. But not this year. They went my way, so I’m very happy.”

“I had some chances today but couldn’t convert them,” Raonic lamented. “All in all it was very positive for me and I hope to keep that trend going. I’m not far off from my best grass tennis; maybe I’m lacking the confidence for the right decision still. I hit the ball well; my service is good. Maybe I need a few more matches to get the confidence to make the right decisions in a split second.”

Highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQmtjl8ziOQ

At the Libema Open, an all-French final went the way of Richard Gasquet 6-3, 7-6(5) at the expense of Jeremy Chardy. Gasquet saved none of the two break points he faced, but he broke Chardy three times before prevailing in one hour and 30 minutes.

“It is great to win a title again,” the former world No. 7 commented. “It [has been] two years that I didn’t win. It is my 15th (title), so it is unusual. It is very tough to win on the ATP World Tour…. I am very happy to win here, it is a great tournament and I am very proud about [winning] it.”

“I started my grass-court season really well with two really good weeks,” said Chardy, a champion at last week’s Surbiton Challenger. “[It is] a lot of confidence for me…. I am really happy with my match today. I think I played a good match from the beginning to the end, but Richard was just a little bit better than me. He deserved to win.”

“It is never easy playing a friend, but we are used to playing a lot of French players throughout the year,” Gasquet explained. “Of course it is not my first time, but it is never easy.”

Both Gasquet and Federer are heading to Halle, while Chardy and Raonic are in the Queen’s Club field.

Highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNhHv0wXEIU

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