Federer and Lopez Claim Titles in Halle and Queens

Last week two 35-year olds won the ATP 500 titles in Halle and Queens and showed once again that the age for men to play their best tennis is getting older and older. Federer easily disposed of A. Zverev 6-3, 6-1 to win his 9th Halle title while Lopez defeated Cilic 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(8) to win his 6th career title.

Lopez also made the final of Stuttgart the previous week so he is on a strong run and has one of the best grass court games around. With his big serve and very solid volleys, he will be someone to watch out for at Wimbledon. Federer lost his first match in Stuttgart and then same as he did after losing to Donskoy in Dubai he won the next tournament he played.

This was Federer’s 92nd overall title and 4th title of the year. The way he disposed of Zverev in the final was particularly impressive. I think he wanted to send a little message after losing to Zverev in the Halle semis last year. Zverev had no chance at all and Federer was superb.

Roger Federer has now won 92 career titles ª¾

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— BBC 5 live Sport (@5liveSport) June 25, 2017

After watching Nadal dominate clay with his endless baseline grinding it was refreshing to see Federer play a masterclass of offensive tennis. Federer is the overwhelming favorite to win Wimbledon. Even if he lost to Zverev he would have been the favorite but now he looks especially lethal.

Peak Djokovic is the only player who can stop this Federer from winning an 8th Wimbledon title and Djokovic is pretty far from that right now. Speaking of Djokovic, he is playing in Eastbourne this week to get some matches and Agassi will also be with him at Wimbledon for as long as Djokovic needs him.

You can never write any of the big three off. Like we saw with Federer and Nadal this year they can come back to their best when you least expect it. That said, I don’t have any expectations for Djokovic. It’s now a similar situation as with Nadal at the French Open. The only guy with a legitimate shot at beating Federer would be peak Djokovic but it is a far safer bet to go with the guy who has been winning the most this year.

Federer almost won Wimbledon last year when he was struggling badly. This year he is in far better shape so he must be the overwhelming favorite. Federer has always owned Murray in big matches and Federer has turned his head-to-head around with Nadal. Nadal has also not been past the fourth round at Wimbledon since 2011.

Tomorrow Djokovic plays his first match in Eastbourne against Pospisil. His draw in Eastbourne looks pretty decent but he will already be tested in his first match. There is no telling what will happen in his current form. But he is still in the top 5 and in the run to pass Federer for consecutive weeks in the top 5 so it would help if he can win some matches.

It doesn’t look like Djokovic is currently in any danger of leaving the top 5 but a deep run at Wimbledon will help him and for that, a decent week in Eastbourne will help too. Federer was in the top 5 for 548 weeks before he fell out and Djokovic is currently in 3rd place at 525 weeks.

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