(June 15, 2014) Roger Federer won the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany for the seventh time on Sunday when he defeated Alejandro Falla 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3) in the final. For the 17-time major Swiss champion, it was his 14th title on grass and 79th career title for the 32-year-old.
The world No. 4 Federer has a 46-5 record in Halle since making his debut in 2000.
“I’ve left a little bit of my heart here,” Federer said of his tennis at Halle. “I’m very pleased now to go to Wimbledon.”
“To win in a tiebreak is always a bit special, the euphoria, the emotion comes out,” Federer said. “I was able to deal with Falla’s strengths in the final and also (Kei) Nishikori’s in the semifinal. They were my second and third games on grass and I’m very satisfied with the level I could reach.”.
“He’s the king of kings of tiebreaks,” said the 69th-ranked Falla. “Overall I played very well throughout the whole week and I want to keep it up.”
Federer almost pulled off a singles and doubles double, but he and countryman Marco Chiudinelli cound not capitalize on fourth match points and were defeated 1-6, 7-5, 12-10 by Andre Begemann of Germany and Julian Knowle of Austria. Federer last won both the singles and doubles titles of the same tournament back in 2005 in Halle.
“I really enjoy winning titles,” Federer said. “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.”
“It’s always tough losing a match, especially a final,” Falla said. “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. This tournament gave me a lot of confidence, having won some tough matches.”
The Colombian was bidding to become the first from his country to win a grass-court title.