TennisToday

Lleyton Hewitt Upsets Roger Federer for Halle Title

8 Lleyton Hewitt d 1 Roger Federer - 36 76(4) 64

File this under 'I didn't see that coming' - this is a big upset indeed.

Lleyton wins his 28th title, 1st since Houston '09 and 6th on grass.

Lleyton also snaps a 15 match losing streak to Roger dating back to '02.

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Roger Federer is now on a 7 tournament title draught.

Not since '01 has Roger gone this far in the year without a 2nd title.

Never fear FedFans, this is a small bump in the road...

He's still the heavy favorite for a 7th Wimbledon title.

Photo: Reuters

Roger Federer & Lleyton Hewitt to Play for Halle Title

1 Roger Federer vs 8 Lleyton Hewitt - H2H: 17-7

Roger has won their last 15 matches played - Lleyton last beat him in '02.

This will be their 5th meeting on grass - Roger leads 3-1.

Oddly enough this is only the 4th meeting in a final - Roger leads 3-0.

Roger seeks 2nd title in '10 following the Australian Open - Lleyton his 1st.

A win would give Roger a 6th title in Halle: '03-'06 & '08.

He skipped the tourney in '07 & '09 so he is riding a 29 match streak.

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Semifinal Results

1 Roger Federer d Philipp Petzschner - 76(3) 64

Germany's Petzschner has quietly worked his way up to #41.

8 Lleyton Hewitt d Benjamin Becker - 67(4) 76(3) 62

Becker is the 4th ranked German at # 52 - there are 5 between #'s 35-60.

Photos: Getty Images

Roger Federer Leads Semifinalists in Halle

Halle ATP 250 - Tomorrow's Semifinal Matches

1 Roger Federer vs Philipp Petzschner - H2H: 0-0

Roger is looking for his 29th consecutive win at Halle.

He's won the event the last 5 times he's played it: '03-'06 & '08.

This is Roger's 5th semi for the 2010 season: 2-2.

This is (home country) Philipp's 4th tour semifinal this year: 0-3.

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2 Lleyton Hewitt vs Benjamin Becker - H2H: 1-0

Both men are in their 1st semifinal on the year.

Basically, both are playing to be the runner-up to Federer on Sunday, no?

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Quarterfinal Results Today

1 Roger Federer d Philipp Kohlschreiber - 75 63
8 Lleyton Hewitt d WC Andreas Beck - 76(0) 61
B Becker (GER) d WC Mischa Zverev - 76(4) 60
Philipp Petzschner d Lukas Lacko - 64 63

Photo: afp

Roger Federer Wins 2nd Round Match in Halle

1 Roger Federer d Alejandro Falla - 61 62

His quarterfinal foe will be German Philipp Kohlschreiber - H2H: 4-0.

Kohlschreiber took a tie-break set off Roger at Wimbledon last year.

That's about all the excitement found in their head-to-head.

Winning Halle a 6th time should be a cake walk for Roger.

He won't potentially face a top 20 player until the final (Davydenko or Youzhny).

Roger is looking for his 2nd title in '10 - to add to his Aussie Open.

In '08 Halle was his second title of that particular year...

Then it was the longest since '01 he'd waited for a 2nd title on a year.

But since most all of the other big boys are playing in London this week...

He should be able to match his '08 effort.

Photo: PMK

Roger Federer Looks MUCH Better on Grass

Ah, Roger on a grass court is like Nutella & bananas on a crepe - delicious.

Ha, that was lame. Sorry.

But it does look 100% better than Roger on clay. Wouldn't you agree?

And in case you missed it: the point of the match:

Roger Federer Slips to #2 as He Wins 1st Match in Halle

On Sunday Roger signed a lifetime contract to play in Halle, Germany.

It was really just a promotional gimmick ahead of the tournament.

But he's agreed to play in Halle as long as he is on tour.

That's quite a score considering it's a level 250 tournament.

Roger is looking for his 6th title here and he won his 1st round match today.

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It was exactly a year ago this week that he regained his #1 ranking.

Yesterday he relinquished it again to Roland Garros champ Rafael Nadal.

Which means he fell 1 week shy of equaling Sampras' record of #1 weeks.

I wrote when Roger skipped Monte Carlo that that might play a big factor.

It did. And for a man well studied in the history of tennis - it had to sting.

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Looking at what Rafa & Roger have coming up and the points defending...

I don't see how Roger can possibly get back to #1 before the US Open.

Years ago Roger modified his schedule because he was a weekend warrior.

He may need to modify it again soon - this year he has been losing earlier.

In 8 tournaments played this year he's been to the final weekend 4 times.