By Chris Oddo | Friday June 23, 2017
Roger Federer made relatively light work of last year’s Gerry Weber Open Champion on Friday, defeating Florian Mayer, 6-3, 6-4, to book his spot in the semifinals at Halle for the 13th consecutive time.
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The eight-time champion saved both break points he faced and dropped only five first-serve points to get past Mayer for the eighth consecutive time.
“I thought I was very calm out there, even in difficult moments,” Federer said, according to ATPWorldTour.com. “I was calm serving out the first and second sets. Those are always signs for me that things are slowly starting to fall into place nicely.”
Federer will next face rising Russian Karen Khachanov, a player he has never faced before. The 21-year-old pushed past Andrey Rublev, 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-3, to reach his first ATP-500 semifinal.
“It will be interesting,” Federer said. “He plays a bit different on the serve and the forehand, which is different to the regular forehand technique we see. He’s big and strong and seems super excited to be on tour and he’s working hard. I don’t know him that well yet so it’s a match where I’ll most likely focus on my own game.”