Roger Federer is three wins away from a ninth Halle title, but a tough matchup awaits him in the quarterfinals on Friday and it will come with David Goffin on the other side of the net. Dominic Thiem and Philipp Kohlschreiber are also in action.
(1) Roger Federer vs. (5) David Goffin
Federer and Goffin will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers when they battle for a spot in the semifinals of the Gerry Weber Open on Friday. All four of their previous meetings have gone Federer’s way and he has taken 10 of their last 11 total sets since dropping the opener of a 2012 French Open showdown. They mist recently faced each other earlier this season at the Australian Open, where the Swiss cruised 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
Federer’s injury-plagued 2016 campaign has gone downhill since he fell to Novak Djokovic in the Aussie semifinals, mainly because of various physical ailments. The 34-year-old missed the French Open with a back injury and was not 100 percent last week in Stuttgart, where he lost to Dominic Thiem in the semis. So far in Halle, Federer has taken out Jan-Lennard Struff and Malek Jaziri in straight sets. Goffin, who advanced to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, beat Borna Coric 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4 on Tuesday before getting a third-set retirement from Sergiy Stakhovsky. The Ukrainian failed to serve out the match in the second set and ended up suffering a back injury. Respective current form suggest this one will be competitive, but it is almost impossible to bet against Federer in Halle; he is 53-5 lifetime there and 46-2 in his last 48 matches.
Pick: Federer in 3
[polldaddy poll=9448100]
(8) Philipp Kohlschreiber vs. (3) Dominic Thiem
Thiem and Kohlschreiber will be going head-to-head for the second time already this week when they meet again on Thursday. The two doubles partners, who played together in both Stuttgart and Halle, just squared off in a rain-delayed Stuttgart final on Monday, when Thiem took the title thanks to a 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4 victory. They also faced each other shortly before the French Open in the Munich championship match, which Kohlschreiber won 7-6(7), 4-6, 7-6(4) to briefly improve to 2-0 lifetime against Thiem.
Although there was no rest for the weary prior to this week’s proceedings in Halle, neither competitor has slowed down. Thiem, who has played–and won–more matches than anyone on tour this season, punched his ticket to the last eight by rolling over Joao Sousa and Teymuraz Gabashvili in straight sets. Kohlschreiber ousted Marcel Granollers 6-2, 7-6(4) before taking down Ivo Karlovic 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-5 on Thursday. There are no secrets between these two friendly foes, but basically nobody other than Djokovic has figured out the way to defeat Thiem of late. Granted, Kohlschreiber did manage to get the best of the Austrian in Munich–but Thiem is simply refusing to tire and may be unbeatable by anyone other than Federer in Halle.
Pick: Thiem in 3
[polldaddy poll=9448101]
WWW?
Thiem in three and fed in two
Fed for the win over Goffin. I think it could go 3 sets.
Thiem and Kohls again! Will Kohls get the win? I think Thiem is hot right now and will win in 3 sets.
Thiem in 3
Goffin in 3. Fed is still unhealthy and with Goffin having a career year, this is his absolute best shot of beating Fed. If Thiem could beat Fed last week, Goffin has just as much of a shot
Also liking Alex Zverev over Baghdatis.
Good revenge spot for the young gun especially playing in front of his home crowd. Baghdatis’ flat ball striking has been pretty solid on this surface but I don’t think his craftiness will be enough against the hard hitting Zverev. Assuming Zverev has his serve working well, I have him winning in 3
Featherer is just old and finished. Gofin for the win.
^^^Let’s hold onto this comment above and review it for accuracy again after the match.
And I just hope that SamWiki not comparing Gofin to Thiem. Don’t you? Or do you. 🙂
Roger in two.
Thiem in three.
Fed won the first set 6-1.
So far the only thing Gofin won was a breadstick.
#ExtraGluten
Fed has served four games at love.
Thiem is overplaying and making a mistake. He is doing what a young Delpo used to do- playing consecutive tournaments. It will be a pity if he arrives at Wimbledon jaded!
I thought that Goffin would make more of a match of it.
I also fear that Thiem is overplaying. I understand him wanting to capitalize when he’s hot and feeling invincible as a young gun, but it could catch up with him.
yeah….he gets a much needed break today though! Good
Really looking forward to Zverev Vs Fed..
Thiem catches a nice break by getting a walkover.
Man I thought Goffin was going to get that second set. He managed the break and got to 40-30 serving for the set at 5-4 and blew the break. What. A. Bummer. And honestly I chose Goffin cuz the odds were too good to pass up lol
What was the reason given for Kohlbi withdrawing.?
Found the answer to my query. Hip problem which has been bothering him since Stuttgart. Now needs six days rest but hopes to be ready in time for Wimby.
Alyssa Nicolas JUNE 17, 2016 AT 11:21 AM
Featherer is just old and finished. Gofin for the win.
LOL.
Hahaha! If you think about it, thats just how awesome Federer is at tennis. The man is 34 years old, comes off Knee surgery, and spanks a Top 15 player in the world in straight sets. Just goes to show that the gap between the Top 5 and the rest of the world is still HUGE!
Yup.
fair point
well, except for “spanks”
I search, often in vein, for equal coverage of Queens when all that is highlighted is Halle included previews. Wonder why this is?
Where’s Fed playing?
#Rhetorical
because (until the semis), Halle has had better matches
and it has Federer