Federer Saves a Pair of Match Points to Reach Halle Quarters, Kyrgios and Djokovic Advance at Queen’s Club
(June 21, 2018) After coming back against Andy Murray in the first round of London, Nick Kyrgios nailed 32 aces against British No. 1 Kyle Edmund in a 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3 win.
“I thought it was a pretty high-level match from both players,” said Kyrgios. “Obviously I served really, really well. I found my rhythm quite early.”
“But, I mean, to be honest, he got pretty much every break in the second set. Net tapes, lines, everything on big points. I thought I played well enough to get a break, you know, there. But on grass, you know, I thought he played well today, honestly. He served well. He returned well.
“I got a lucky break in the third set. He made a couple loose errors, and that was pretty much all that was in it,” said the Australian.
Novak Djokovic looked closer to the form that won him 12 majors, beating a top five player for the first time in a long time in No. 5 Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-1 in London.
“It was important match for me today for various reasons, “ said her Serb. “Obviously I, you know, didn’t win too many big matches in the last 12 months. You know, I’m still kind of finding my form.
“This was a great test playing against one of the top players of the world, a player that I guess prefers this surface the most.
“It was just a great challenge that I was looking forward to. I was very focused. I was very determined to play my best, especially after a great performance in the first round and managed to deliver.
“You know, I broke, I guess, the resistance in that 10th game of the first set. He made a couple of crucial double faults that obviously allowed me to get ahead, but I thought I was just making him play always in big moments and served well when I needed to. So it was a very good performance.”
“I had two great matches so far, and I’ll just keep my focus here. I’m definitely not one of the favorites in Wimbledon, so I’ll just try to keep it humble.”
Over in Halle, world No. 1 Roger Federer saved two match points against Benoit Paire to win 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) to reach the quarterfinals.
“It was a tough match,” said Federer in press. “I played at a good level actually. I think he served well and had a good mix and a good variety. It was hard to break. So, naturally, it was always going to be tight. And at the end it was just extremely close. So, I’m fortunate to have made it today.”
Federer is going for his 10th Gerry Weber Open title.
