Swiss tennis superstar Roger Federer won his 79th career ATP title on Sunday after capturing the Gerry Weber Open title in Halle for the seventh time. Federer won 7-6, 7-6 against Colombian Alejandro Falla. The latter was aiming to win his first career ATP Tour title. The match lasted an hour and 29 minutes.
Federer now has a 46-5 record in Halle. The victory earned him 250 ranking points (successfully defending the points) plus $128,860 in prize money.
Federer’s most number of titles in a tournament are now in both Wimbledon and Halle with seven each.
“It is great to have won seven times here,” Federer said in an interview with ATPWorldTour.com. “It is very special and I hope to come back here next year, where it is a [ATP World Tour] 500-series event.”
“I really enjoy winning titles. It is what I play for, to play and receive a standing ovation at the end. I am very pleased with my performance. I work hard and travel the tour to win these titles and not lose in the quarters or semi-finals. With all the success I have had in the past, I need to aim for titles. I think I deserved the title this week.
“In the past, when I have played well at Halle I have usually played well at Wimbledon,” said Federer. “They have been two of my most successful tournaments, so I hope that this title will bring me luck again. Last year it didn’t work out, but it did many times before. So I hope it will be back to the good old days.”
Falla was aiming to become the second Colombian player to win an ATP title. He’s come close twice now after finishing runner up in Bogota last year to Ivo Karlovic. Despite the loss, he’ll still be happy with a $67,865 paycheck and 150 ranking points.
“It’s always tough losing a match, especially a final,” said Falla. “I wanted to win the title so badly. But when you play Roger in a final, it is always tough. It was a close match. I tried my best and fought for every point. I am happy with the way I played today and the tournament overall. I enjoy playing on the grass. This tournament gave me a lot of confidence, having won some tough matches.”
In doubles later in the day, Federer and partner Marco Chiudinelli lost despite taking the first set and leading in the super tiebreaker. The duo lost to Andre Begemann and Julian Knowle 1-6, 7-5, 12-10.
