ROGER FEDERER failed to qualify for the Halle Open quarterfinals Wednesday as 20-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime rallied from a set down to stun the former champion. “It’s amazing, for sure I didn’t expect this,” Auger-Aliassime told Eurosport after beating one of his heroes at the first attempt on the ATP tour. “I wanted to win, but Roger Federer is my idol and it was a huge honor to play him.” Federer is exactly 19 years older than Auger-Aliassime as the pair share the same birthday Aug. 8, when the Swiss ace turns 40 this year. “I always thought he would be gone by the time I joined the tour,” admitted the Canadian, who turned professional in 2017. “I was a little nervous when I realized I could win, but I was playing really well, almost perfect tennis.” Federer had pulled out of the fourth round of the French Open last week to give himself extra rest after two operations on his right knee in 2020 and a year of rehab. Halle is his traditional grass court warmup event before playing at Wimbledon and he won the tournament played near Bielefeld for the 10th time in 2019. As the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Federer was the defending champion in Halle. However, despite losing the first set, Auger-Aliassime, who ranked 21 in the world, showed no signs of being intimidated by Federer, who has won 20 Grand Slams. The Canadian blasted down 13 aces and earned 15 breakpoints. Federer, who had said he needs 10 games to prepare for Wimbledon, won the first set with ease, but struggled from there on. He soon started to labor in the second set as Auger-Aliassime converted his fourth breakpoint to go 4-2 up, then served out to level the match at one set all. (SD-Agencies) |