This week in Halle all eyes were on Roger Federer and the generation represented by Zverev and Thiem. Eventually, the home favorite and the world no. 192 Florian Mayer surprised everyone after winning the tournament. Mayer achieved this feat after beating 2 (future) big names in the semifinal (Thiem) and the final (Zverev).
The German had to dig deep in the final against Zverev. Mayer didn’t manage to convert two championship points on Sasha’s serve when he was leading 6-2 5-4 15-40 to fight in the third set. Eventually, Zverev imploded at the beginning of the decider to concede a fast 5-2 to his opponent. Sasha had the chances to break back Mayer when he was 5-3 down, but Florian held his nerves to win 6-2 5-7 6-3.
This is my most important title. MAYER
This is Mayer’s second career title after Bucharest in 2011. The German commented “I would say it’s the biggest win in my career to win a 500 event here in Germany on grass. If you see the list of champions in the past here, and now my name is on the list, I cannot believe it. I had a hard time with so many injuries and not playing tournaments. So, it’s a special moment now for me to come back and win a 500 tournament.
It helps a lot to be back in the Top 100 also. With one tournament everything changes now for my rankings and to plan for bigger tournaments in the future.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
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| THE DRAW |
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| SUPRISE, SURPRISE |
