By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, June 10, 2016
"it's all at happening at the same time and I think it's a very exciting time right now in tennis," says Roger Federer ahead of his semifinal clash with Dominic Thiem.
Photo credit: Mercedes Cup
The Stuttgart grass is a fertile stage for Roger Federer's multi-tasking skills.
The top-seeded Swiss continues climbing past the legends, while welcoming challenges from the next generation.
More: Federer Into Stuttgart Semifinals
The oldest man in the Top 10 meets the youngest Top 10 player tomorrow when the 34-year-old Federer faces 22-year-old Dominic Thiem for a spot in the Stuttgart final.
Seven of the world's Top 10 players are age 29 or older. Only five members of the Top 50—Thiem, No. 19 Nick Kyrgios, No. 29 Lucas Pouille, No. 38 Alexander Zverev and 48th-ranked Borna Coric—are 22 years old or younger.
Federer, who defeated 18-year-old Taylor Fritz in his Stuttgart opener, says the clash of generations creates excitement for the sport.
"They are clearly very driven at the beginning already," Federer said of the rising new generation. "Clearly, it's nice to see new faces. At the same time it's also cool to see that my generation of players, there's still a bunch of over 30-year-olds still going very strong. At least it shows that physically we can handle it, the long and grueling, tough career.
"But at the same time it's nice to see new guys are coming up and also breaking through. So it's all at happening at the same time and I think it's a very exciting time right now in tennis."
Fresh off his run to his first Grand Slam semifinal at Roland Garros, Thiem faces Federer for the third time this season in a battle of jolting one-handed backhands.
Federer dismantled the Austrian, 6-1, 6-4, in the Brisbane semifinals. Last month in Rome, Thiem defeated Federer, 7-6, 6-4.
"When I played against him I saw he was a good player and he's going to be a good player in the future," Federer said of Thiem. "And he showed that right after with a great showing at the French Open and making his move into the Top 10. I think that's always a huge big milestone in a player's career. I'm sure he's really excited and he should be excited by that move."
Thiem backed up his Rome win over Federer capturing his third title of the season in Nice then surging to his first Grand Slam semifinal where he fell to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros.
Thiem enters the Stuttgart semifinal empowered by winning 11 of his last 12 matches, though his comfort zone playing several feet behind the baseline could present court-positioning challenges on grass against the seven-time Wimbledon champion.
"It's nice to see him back it up here this week on the grass right away the following week," Federer said. "It's not always to be expected. It's tough after such a high to get back motivated and right away playing the semis of a different surface that is not his favorite surface. So I respect him in a big way."
The top-seeded Federer fired 15 aces and saved three set points in the second set, subduing Florian Mayer, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (1), to advance to the Stuttgart semifinals with a milestone win.
The 34-year-old Swiss scored his 1,072 career victory, surpassing Hall of Famer Ivan Lendl for second place on Open Era career victories list. Federer trails only former world No. 1 Jimmy Connors, who won an Open Era-record 1,256 matches.
Federer believes today's performance against an unorthodox opponent was a step forward in his return from a lower back injury.
"The feeling was better. I felt I was playing up and down the court a bit more. Coming to net, seeing things a little bit earlier," Federer said. "I think the serve was more consistent, power and accuracy, throughout the match. I played two really good tie breakers. I'm actually very pleased because it's a step up from the last match."