Federer survives Tsonga to reach Halle quarters

Roger Federer was made to work hard by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Halle before sealing a 7-6(5) 4-6 7-5 victory to continue his charge towards a 10th title at the German grass-court tournament.

Federer, a 20-time Grand Slam winner who is using the tournament to prepare for next month’s Wimbledon championships, converted two out of four break points to come through a tight match in two hours and 16 minutes on Thursday.

Serving at 4-5 down in the final set and a game from defeat, Federer ripped through three straight games – breaking serve in the 11th – to advance.

Tough test: passed@rogerfederer survives a Tsonga onslaught to reach his 17th Halle quarter-final in 17 appearances! pic.twitter.com/X4cbaqtjn3

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 20, 2019

The win snapped a two-match losing streak against Tsonga for Federer, who scored his first win over the Frenchman since 2014.

The 37-year-old Swiss, who has reached the Halle quarterfinals for a 17th time, next meets Roberto Bautista Agut, who defeated Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-1 6-4.

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Germany’s Alexander Zverev, runner-up in 2016 and 2017, stayed in the hunt for a first Halle title with a 6-3 7-5 victory over Steve Johnson to set up a quarterfinal against the unseeded David Goffin.

Zverev withdrew from the doubles event due to a knee injury, which he is managing this week.

“I am definitely happy with how things went,” he told atptour.com. “Obviously my knee is still very swollen but the pain is much much less than it was a few days ago. I hope when the swelling goes out it will be much better.”

Belgium’s Goffin, the 2017 ATP finals runner-up who has slipped to No.33 in the world, has lost his two meetings with second seed Zverev but both matches were played on clay.

Matteo Berrettini, who rallied past Italian compatriot Andreas Seppi 4-6 6-3 6-2, is seeking his third ATP title and second on grass following his success in Stuttgart last week.

Up next for Berrettini is Russian Karen Khachanov, who has failed to defeat the big-hitting world No.22 in two previous attempts, including in the second round at Stuttgart.