Halle Open 2021: Roger Federer stunned by unseeded Felix Auger Aliassime in pre-quarters
Switzerland’s Roger Federer is preparing on grass ahead of the Wimbledon 2021 Grand Slam. He was defending his 10-time crown in the Halle Open 2021 (ATP 500 series) as a warm-up ahead of Wimbledon, only to be denied by Canada’s Felix Auger Aliassime.
FollowRoger Federer of Switzerland’s bid for a swift return to the grass took a jolt after he was ousted in the pre-quarters of the 2021 Halle Open. He lost to unseeded Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada in three sets 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 at the Gerry Weber Stadion on Wednesday.
Federer was the ten-time defending champion, winning the most titles in this tournament out of his 14 final appearances here. The competition was not held last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The match
As for the match, it was intense right from the start. While Federer relied on his classic gameplay that was a combination of his forehand and backhand, Auger Aliassime was on the top of his game with his powerful shots, especially the forehand.
Although the Swiss managed the sole break in the opening set, the Canadian did the same in the second. As for the final set, Federer did look to bounce back, but his first serve took a dip, as Auger Aliassime was vigilant and took sheer advantage of the same to earn a double break, besides saving a breakpoint for himself.
Stats
- It was Federer’s first loss in the opening two rounds of the tournament, while he was 32-0 before Wednesday.
- While he aimed to feature in his 18th quarter appearance, the loss has now brought his season record to 5-3.
Reactions
Auger Aliassime: “It’s a great victory; it’s good for my confidence. It was already a great challenge for me to play a player like Roger, but to beat him, it’s a great thing. It makes me really happy. But, at the end, it’s the quarter-finals in two days. If it was the final, then I’d be really happy… it’s another step in the tournament, it’s a great match, so hopefully, I can keep on going like that.”
“I understand how good he is and how good he was when he was No. 1 in the world, so it was tough. Everything worked well today, to be honest. I think that’s what you need to do against Roger. On my part, I served really well. I was able to put in a lot of returns, mix up, coming to the net, closing well. I think, overall, I did a good match.”
Federer: “It’s a huge challenge for me. Everybody who has been in multiple surgeries or a tough surgery knows what I’m talking about. Things don’t come simple; they don’t come easy. You second-guess yourself rather quickly, unfortunately, and that’s sometimes the biggest worry: the worry of pain or the worry of how you’re going to feel the next day or when you wake up, the first steps, how did they feel? All this stuff, it takes a little bit of a toll on you sometimes.”
“I just think the consistency point for point has not been easy for me in the comeback, and I knew that’s what it is going to take. The good thing coming out of a match like this against a great player is I know what I need to think about moving forward. Clearly, I need to do a bit better, but overall I thought also Felix played a great match. He stayed mentally very solid. He showed that he wanted to win and he was better at the end.”
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