Roger Federer wins his 10th Halle Open tennis title

Roger Federer set another benchmark in his remarkable career by winning his 10th Halle Open title in Germany on Sunday.

The Swiss great defeated David Goffin 7-6 (2), 6-1 to extend his record of wins at the grass-court tournament and claim his 10th at an individual event for the first time. Only Rafael Nadal had previously achieved the feat in the Open era.

Goffin, who was playing in his first final since 2017, made life difficult for Federer in the first set, forcing him to save three break points without having to face any of his own, but the world No. 3 upped his level in the tie break and maintained it from there to win his 102nd tour-level title in just over an hour.

It’s Federer’s 19th on grass, ideal preparation for Wimbledon, which the 37-year-old hopes to win for a ninth time.

Federer first played the Halle Open as an 18-year-old in 2000, when both his current coach, Ivan Ljubicic, and Goffin’s coach, Thomas Johansson, played it, too.

In another grass-court tournament, Feliciano Lopez outlasted Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2) to win the Queen’s Club title in London and reaffirm his status as the grass-court tournament’s oldest winner on Sunday.

The veteran Spaniard was already its oldest winner when he took the title in 2017.

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The now 37-year-old Lopez was playing his first final since defeating Marin Cilic in the decider two years ago and was made to work hard by Simon, himself no newbie at 34.

In a women’s grass-court tournament, Ashleigh Barty defeated Julia Goerges 6-3, 7-5 to win the Birmingham Classic title in England, a victory that ensures the Australian will be No. 1 in the rankings on Monday.

The 23-year-old Barty, who lost the final to Petra Kvitova in 2017, did not drop a set all week at the grass-court tournament, and she fought back from being 4-5 down in the second set to beat the German in 1 hour, 28 minutes.

Goerges fought back tears as she congratulated her friend on taking top spot in the rankings ahead of Wimbledon, which starts July 1.

French Open champion Barty, currently ranked No. 2, will take over from Naomi Osaka, who lost 6-2, 6-3 loss to Yulia Putintseva in the second round on Thursday.

Barty is only the second Australian woman to hold the top spot after Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976.