By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, June 10, 2016
Roger Federer saved three set points subduing Florian Mayer, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (1), to reach the Stuttgart semifinals and surpass Ivan Lendl for second place on the Open Era victory list.
Photo credit: Mercedes Cup
Roger Federer's decisive first strike propelled him to a historic second spot.
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.
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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.
Serving to force the second-set tie break, Federer fought off three set points, including blasting a service winner down the T to stave off the third set point.
Striking with confidence in the tie break, Federer wrapped up his seventh win in as many meetings with Mayer.
"Every point is important on the grass," Federer told Barbara Schett-Eagle afterward. "Of course I was very happy to have made it through in two sets to save energy. The match is tough.
"Florian is a great player on grass. I've had some tough matches against him in the past. I knew it was gonna be difficult. Like it happens so often, a few shots, line shots, return of serves made the difference. That was the key to the second set."
Contesting his first ATP quarterfinal since the 2015 Halle, Mayer pressured Federer in the opening game. An aggressive second serve enabled Federer to save break point in the opener.
After that, neither man was truly tested on serve until the end of the set.
In the 12th game, Federer curled a sweeping backhand return down the line then flashed another backhand into the corner for set point. Mayer denied it when Federer netted a backhand, eventually holding to force the tie break.
The biting slice serve, particularly on the deuce side, was a weapon for Federert. The top seed hit the slider serve with damaging effect in the tie break, cracking three aces.
Slashing an ace that whizzed by Mayer and collided with the court-side clock, Federer took a 4-1 lead he stretched to 5-1 after winning a 17-shot exchange—longest of the match to that point. On set point, Federer smacked his seventh ace to snatch a one-set lead.
Federer served 62 percent and won 23 of 26 first-set points in the 41-minute opener.
"If only (my serve) was always like that. But it's not, but it's okay," Federer said. "It's crucial to serve well in breakers. It just relaxes you and you can take more chances on the return. That's exactly how it went. It was just two perfect breakers today."
The German qualifier denied two break points, including an ace wide on the second, to hold in the opening game of the second set.
Sustaining concentration was a challenge for Federer in his opening-round win over explosive American Taylor Fritz. An early lapse cost him the break as Federer put a backhand into the middle of the net giving Mayer the break and a 2-0 lead.
When Mayer put a lethargic backhand into net, Federer broke back then sped through consolidation with a love hold.
Serving to force the tie break, Federer stared down double set point, cranking a bold second serve down the middle to save the second set point.
A double fault gave Mayer a third set point. Federer erased it with another blistering serve down the T, punctuating the strike with a firm "come on."
Eighty-one minutes after first ball, the tie break began. Mayer, who had played controlled tennis throughout much of the second, scattered a couple of errors to start the breaker.
Finding his forehand, Federer sprinted through the finish line. A running forehand strike down the line extended the lead to 4-0. Two points later, Federer made a low forehand reflex volley, a tricky shot, look routine earning six match points.
On his second match point, Federer slashed a final forehand winner down the line to close in style.
The world No. 3 reached his first semifinal since the Australian Open. Federer will face Dominic Thiem, who edged Mikhail Youzhny, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. The third-seeded Thiem defeated Federer in Rome last month, 7-6, 6-4. Federer later withdrew from Roland Garros with a lower back injury snapping his Open Era-record streak of 65 consecutive Grand Slam appearances.
After spending recent weeks on the practice court, the 17-time Grand Slam champion is feeling the buzz playing in front of a packed center court crowd.
"That's exactly why I still play to play in front of a nice crowd and win a few matches in a row and hopefully who knows maybe lift a trophy from time to time," Federer said. "I really enjoyed myself and that's exactly what I thought after the match is over. How nice it is to be back on the match court and win two matches in a row. It's beautiful right now so I'm really enjoying it."