Former World No. 2 Tommy Haas said an emotional farewell to Halle fans Tuesday, carrying his daughter Valentina in his arms as he walked off Gerry Weber Stadion for the final time. The two-time champion fell 6-4, 6-4 to Australian Bernard Tomic in his final professional grass-court match on German soil. “Walking with Valentina in my arms is always special, but leaving the court this way for the last time is icing on the cake,” said Haas, who was presented with a commemorative framed photo from Tournament Director Ralf Weber. He also received thunderous applause from fans. “It was very emotional, obviously. You never quite know how to prepare for your last match at an event, especially one that is...
Roger Federer added another milestone to his historic career on Tuesday, celebrating his 1,100th match win to start his Gerry Weber Open campaign in Halle. The eight-time champion breezed past lucky loser Yuichi Sugita of Japan 6-3, 6-1 in 52 minutes to move into the second round at the ATP World Tour 500 event. “It [the milestone] was mentioned in Stuttgart but I had forgotten about it. I appreciate these numbers way more today than ever before. I think I can embrace them more. It’s a big number and I’m very happy to have a chance to hopefully add some more wins to that number,” Federer said. MOST WINS OF ALL TIME 1 Jimmy Connors 1256 2 Roger Federer 1100...
On a day of upsets, #NextGenATP Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis pulled off the biggest win of his career on Tuesday, stunning World No. 6 and 2016 finalist Milos Raonic 7-6(5), 7-6(8) in the first round of the Aegon Championships in London. The win is Kokkinakis' first Top 10 victory and should accelerate him down the comeback trail. The 21 year old has dealt with a barrage of injuries during the past two seasons. Last year, he played only one tour-level match after enduring shoulder surgery on 29 December 2015 and battling a pectoralis strain. This season, after winning the Brisbane doubles title with countryman Jordan Thompson to start the year, Kokkinakis had to miss more than four months because of an...