Roger Federer may have suffered a loss to Tommy Haas last week in what was a surprising upset. However, he was quick to shake the result off heading into the 2017 Gerry Weber Open. Federer won in Halle on Sunday, defeating Alexander Zverev in the tournament's final. The line score in the match was 6-1, 6-3 as Federer claimed his fourth title of his 2017 season and the 92nd title of his incredible career.
Federer seemed to breeze through the draw
Federer did not face a major challenge in Halle over the last week. The Swiss Maestro won the entire tournament in straight sets, a run that included five match victories.
Zverev was the toughest talent that Federer had to best, but he made light work of the German in claiming the Halle title. Other players that Federer defeated en route to the 500-series title were Karen Khachanov, Florian Mayer, Mischa Zverev, and Yuichi Sugita. There are a couple of small grass-court events that will be played over the next week. However, Federer will now be idle on tour until he contests his opening-round match at Wimbledon 2017.
Zverev loses in Germany, his home country
For Zverev, the result in Halle has to be disappointing, especially since he was playing in a home-country tournament. He won the Rome Masters in the spring but actually seems to be better suited for grass-court play than clay.
Nonetheless, Zverev did enjoy a strong week in Halle, one that saw him defeat Paolo Lorenzi, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Richard Gasquet en route to the final. Zverev will also be idle for the next week as he looks forward to Wimbledon 2017 as well. Despite his results in the ATP Tour events, he has yet to put a big dent in any Grand Slam draw.
His best result in a major is still just the third round with a surprise loss in the first round of the French Open this spring the lowlight of his season thus far.
The victory for Federer brings 500 ranking points as Halle is part of the 500 series on the ATP Tour. He projects to a World No. 5 ranking on Monday and could improve his ranking at Wimbledon.
He made the semifinals there last year so a title this year at the All England Club would bring him a net gain of 1280 ranking points. Depending on how those ranked above him do at the tournament, Federer might be able to gain a spot in the rankings. That, in turn, could lead to a hotly contested summer hard-court season with Federer one candidate in what looks like an emerging close race for the World No. 1 ranking.
