Federer defeats defending champion, enters Halle Open semi-finals

The "express train" turned Florian Mayer into a former champion of the tournament, with a 6-3, 6-4 victory in the quarterfinals.

Roger Federer needed just 66 minutes to claim his eighth victory over home player Mayer. The Swiss player broke one set in each set, enough to book a ticket to the Halle semi-finals, for the 13th consecutive time.

"The important thing is that I kept my attacking style and left the baseline," said the eight-time Halle champion. "Today I moved well, played short balls, went to the net and hit volleys. I played calmly and I'm completely satisfied with what I showed."

Federer chose the right strategy to easily overcome Mayer. Photo: AFP.

Federer has not lost a set in three matches at Halle 2017, against opponents with completely different playing styles. Yuichi Sugita plays a baseline game, Mischa Zverez plays a serve & volley style, while Mayer has a versatile style. With more than 15 years of experience, Federer knows exactly which tactics to choose to win quickly.

The semi-final opponent of "Express Train" is 21-year-old Karen Khachanov, who has a different forehand than usual. Khachanov serves strongly, but his height of 1.98m can make it difficult for him to move to defend against Federer's overwhelming attacks.

The other semi-final is between Alexander Zverez and Richard Gasquet.

According to VNE