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6/12/10 2:37 AM | Ricky Dimon
Roger Federer and Philipp Petzschner will square off in Halle on Saturday. A place in the title match is at stake.
Philipp Petzschner might want to be careful what he wishes for.
"A small dream of mine will become true," Petzschner said after reaching the semifinals of the Gerry Weber Open on Friday. That dream is to play 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, and Petzschner will be doing that for the first time in his career on Saturday.
"I always wanted to play him," continued the German. "I have watched him often enough and know what to expect. It is evident if he can play his best tennis, I won’t have a chance to beat him. But I have to believe in my chances. I will try everything, fight for every ball and see whether it will be enough."
So far it has been enough for Petzschner in Halle, albeit against far less formidable competition. The world No. 41 has dismissed Marcos Baghdatis, Viktor Troicki, and Lukas Lacko on his way to the last four. Petzschner now stands at a solid 18-11 for his 2010 campaign.
Playing Federer on grass, however, is a tough proposition. The world No. 2 struggled throughout most of the clay-court swing, but he is back on track at an event which he has won five times in eight tries. Federer has hot dropped a set in victories over Jarkko Nieminen, Alejandro Falla, and Philipp Kohlschreiber.
"I feel in good shape, playing well in all areas of my game," explained the No. 1 seed. "Tactically I'm doing the right things; serving great, moving really well. I’m happy that the success is coming upon me and I’m looking forward to tomorrow."
Petzschner is also looking forward to it, but he can't be anticipating a win. The underdog could be competitive in each set since he has a big serve and forehand that work well on grass, but look for Federer to prevail in straights.
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Fed really needs to win this tourny. Anything less will be a serious loss of face and make a huge dent in his confidence coming into Wimby.
ed251137 , 6/12/10 8:51 AM
Petzchner has been playing well,but Federer will win as Federer is in a completely different class to all of Petzschner?s previous opponents. Federer's returning is often an underrated part of his game particularly against serve-volleyers(see the Sampras match in 01) and it is hard to see Petzschner avoiding getting broken at least once per set.
tj600 , 6/12/10 9:12 AM
petzchner gonna get outclassed......no one better on grass than the maestro
VAMOS!!!
vrael , 6/12/10 9:19 AM
You are correct Vrael........there ISN'T anyone better on grass than Roger!!!!
Roger WILL take this in STRAIGHTS!!!!!
CAN'T WAIT to WATCH!!!!!
ALLEZ ROGER!!
missyRF , 6/12/10 9:33 AM
just as a matter of interest,is federer getting seeded no 1 at wimbledon?
tj600 , 6/12/10 9:59 AM
@ tj, raging qstn, no clarity .. i think at least as per Wimby's accepted list Fed is No.1, not sure if they will redo that list ...
either ways it should be fine ...
justtennis , 6/12/10 11:33 AM
federer has the best chance of winning wimbledon if you talk abt the all 7 rnds...if he meets rafa in the finals, he wont be the favorite at all...almost equal terms then,,,
@tj, i think they wil seed nadal as no.1 , it can go either way and its not gona matter much but i think its gona be rafa becoz rafa is no djokovic/davydenko on grass his last 2 performaces were wonderful and he is no.1
vamosrafa , 6/12/10 1:04 PM
vamosrafa, 6/12/10 1:04 PM: not so sure about that. Wimbledon have their own way of seeding based on a players record on grass alone. Since Rafa has not played on grass for two years and went out early from Queens I think Federer is more likely to be No.1 and Rafa No.2. If it weren't for the fact that they are probably praying for a Nadal-Fed final they they might otherwise have given No.2 to Roddick.
ed251137 , 6/12/10 4:01 PM
Not true ed251137. They just can't give seeding to anyone they like. If I'm not wrong, they'll take into consideration the past two years' Wim results - I think 100% of last year, and 75% of two years ago - in addition to current world ranking. That will make Fed the 1st seed and Rafa the 2nd seed. Roddick's ranking points is too far away from Rafa's so he won't be seeded 2nd. Roddick may be seeded 4 or 5, as his result of Wim 2008 wasn't great.
luckystar , 6/12/10 4:18 PM
excellent from the german....he BREAKS
vrael , 6/12/10 4:19 PM
Fed has been broken
saxenanalin , 6/12/10 4:20 PM
Great stuff from Petzschner
SGHIceman , 6/12/10 4:20 PM
petzy holds........federer looks STUNG!!!
vrael , 6/12/10 4:24 PM
I think the first set is gone for fed
saxenanalin , 6/12/10 4:24 PM
petz to serve for the set.........
vrael , 6/12/10 4:27 PM
Fed's service % is way down for him. But Petz is worse.
ed251137 , 6/12/10 4:30 PM
fed breaks back
saxenanalin , 6/12/10 4:32 PM
the first is almost over for the german...
vrael , 6/12/10 4:41 PM
yess........
fed wins the first set
saxenanalin , 6/12/10 4:44 PM
Not many people can beat Fed in a tie break, so not surprising that the German lost. Well too bad for the German, fought so hard to keep up with Fed but lost in the tie-break. I doubt he can play as well in the second set.
luckystar , 6/12/10 4:48 PM
federer vs hewitt tomorrow!!
vrael , 6/12/10 5:28 PM
Roger is the classic greatest. Love Roger
RogerLove , 6/12/10 9:09 PM
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come on fedex .. gather some momentum, play well and get ready for Wimby :)
justtennis , 6/12/10 7:43 AM