Ten days out from Wimbledon, most of the contenders, young and old, are gathering strength and form, chief among them the tournament’s favourite son, Roger Federer.
Federer is fighting his way back to competitive shape and fitness after pulling out of the French Open – but he still has to get past the livewire German Alexander Zverev on Saturday to reach the final in Halle, where the Swiss has won eight times, in preparation for his favourite tournament. At 34, the All England Club provides his best chance of adding to his 17 slams.
He had to work through five match points before beating the in-form Belgian David Goffin 6-1, 7-6 (12-10) in the quarters on Friday. Zverev, who gave Federer a decent argument in their only previous contest, over two sets in Rome last month, finished strongly in an hour and a half to beat Marcos Baghdatis 7-6 (11-9), 6-3.
Federer, at No3 in the world behind Andy Murray, has played only 21 matches all season, after knee surgery and back pain forced his withdrawal from four tournaments.
Dominic Thiem, leading the charge of the youth brigade this year with tournament wins on all surfaces, got a walkover into the semi-finals from Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Federer’s old rival Rafael Nadal has a tougher road back than the Swiss. The Spaniard’s uncle and coach, Toni, says he will resume training in two weeks – just as Wimbledon moves through the early stages of the championship – and should be ready to test the torn tendons of his left wrist at the Rogers Cup, which starts on 23 July in Toronto.
Nadal shocked all but those close to him when he pulled out of the French Open last month after two quick and impressive wins. He has had his wrist encased since to immobilise it.
“Rafa is doing well,” his coach told the ATP website. “The [Spanish] Federation doctor has said that everything is progressing as it should, in the timeframe we expected. Now he has to start strengthening his wrist and his arm a little bit and, in two weeks, we will start training step by step, working a little bit harder each day. The doctor said everything is on the right track. The plan is to play Toronto if everything goes well.”
In Birmingham, Heather Watson lost 7-5, 6-4 to the former finalist Barbora Strycova in the second round. “I knew it was going to be a tough one,” the British No2 said. “I played her a few weeks ago; she’s a smart player and a good fighter. I don’t think I dealt with the circumstances as well as she did. On the court we were on, I was getting distracted and I don’t think my focus was there.”
Out also is Johanna Konta, the British No1. Yanina Wickmayer, ranked 49 in the world, beat her 6-3, 6-3. Konta, whose excellent form has dipped a little, needs a win to get back in the rhythm that has lifted her into the top 20.
