Gerry Weber Open 2015: Friday Tennis Scores, Results and Updated Draw Schedule
Roger Federer kept his hopes of an eighth triumph at the Gerry Weber Open alive, as he coasted past Florian Mayer and into the semi-finals with a straight-sets win.
Facing him in the last four will be Ivo Karlovic, as the 36-year-old Croatian produced a serving clinic to get the better of third seed Tomas Berdych in three sets. Elsewhere, Kei Nishikori progressed in his quarter-final after a punishing battle against Jerzy Janowicz; he’ll play Andreas Seppi in the semis after Gael Monfils retired midway through their match.
Here’s a full rundown of the results on Friday, a look back at some of the highlights of an engrossing day’s play and how the semi-final draw is shaping up.
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| Winner | Score | Loser |
| Roger Federer (1) | 6-1, 7-6(1) | Florian Mayer |
| Ivo Karlovic (6) | 7-5, 6-7(8), 6-3. | Tomas Berdych (3) |
| Kei Nishikori (2) | 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 | Jerzy Janowicz |
| Andreas Seppi | 6-1, 1-0 (Ret) | Gael Monfils (4) |
| Roger Federer (1) | vs. | Ivo Karlovic (6) |
| Andreas Seppi | vs. | Kei Nishikori (2) |
All details courtesy of ATPWorldTour.com.
Federer Cruises Through, Karlovic Sets Aces Record
Things could have been so different for Federer in Halle this week. The Swiss star was pushed to the brink of elimination by Philipp Kohlschreiber in Round 1, but he’s recovered brilliantly in subsequent matches and is now looking like the grass-court specialist he is after this 6-0, 7-6(1) triumph.
All those talents were on show in the first stanza against Mayer, as the 33-year-old turned on the style. As we can see here courtesy of Sky Sports Tennis, the opening set was hopelessly lopsided in Federer’s favour:
The second saw the German find his feet, but Federer always oozed a measure of control. Mayer was unable to make any kind of inroads on the Swiss’ serve, and although his diligent play earned him a tie-break, it was only likely to go one way; Federer turned on the style to win the breaker 7-1 and clinch the match in the process.
Next up for the Swiss is Karlovic, who eventually overpowered Berdych on his way to the semi-finals, edging out the third seed in a thrilling encounter.
The veteran Croatian has rolled back the years this week with a string of exciting, effervescent displays. But this win was all about brute force, as he got the better of the 2007 champion 7-5, 6-7(8), 6-3. As noted here by Josh Meiseles of the ATP World Tour website, Karlovic’s victory was founded on some ruthless serving:
There were some moments of quality tossed in, though. Berdych has been brilliant in the buildup to this last eight showdown and Karlovic did well to match him in general play throughout the match.
Karlovic’s serve meant that despite the Czech star pulling a set back, the 36-year-old always had a foothold. The fact Berdych didn’t have a break point to play for in the entire match shows just how good the Croatian was and he’ll fancy his chances of toppling Federer in the semi-finals.
Afterwards, the giant Croatian revealed his delight at breaking the record, per ATP World Tour website: “I’m extremely happy about the record. Hitting aces helps a lot, you can avoid the volleys. I was surprised when I was told on court after the match how many aces I hit. I didn’t know it was that many. Hopefully I can continue like that in the semi-final.”
In the other side of the draw, second seed Nishikori also had to scrap on his way into the semis, overcoming an obdurate Janowicz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
The popular Japanese player was well on top in the opening set, manoeuvring the ball around the court with his patented intricacy. But the imposing Pole did brilliantly to fight back in this one. Despite relinquishing a hard-earned break of serve in the second, he recovered wonderfully to get past Nishikori’s serve again and take it into a decider.
As noted by The Tennis Island, the Japanese admitted his focus did escape him in the second set:
But credit to Nishikori, who recaptured his best form in the deciding stanza, winning it 6-3 and booking his semi-final spot.
There he’ll play Seppi, who progressed in his match against Monfils after a nasty injury prompted the Frenchman to pull out. The fourth seed collided with an advertising board in the opening exchanges and after one game of the second set, decided to retire with the score 6-1, 1-0 in the Italian’s favour.
As noted here by Stuart Fraser of BBC Sport, there’s a lot at stake for Nishikori in his semi-final against Seppi, with Wimbledon looming large:
At this juncture Federer still looks like the man to beat here. An early wobble like the one he suffered would be enough to knock the confidence of a lot of players, but Federer has taken things serenely in his stride and will be desperate to warm up for SW19 with another final appearance in Halle.
Karlovic will be a testing foe, and it’ll be intriguing to see how the Swiss handles the serving prowess of the big Croatian. But expect the 33-year-old to find a way to win as he marches toward title No. 8 at this prestigious tournament.
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