Roger Federer, Ana Ivanovic claim grass-court tournament wins

Roger Federer won the Gerry Weber Open for the seventh time by defeating Alejandro Falla, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3), in the final on Sunday in Halle, Germany, while Ana Ivanovic captured her first grass-court title in almost a decade with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova in the Aegon Classic in Birmingham, England.

Federer fired five aces and saved three of the five break points he faced to win in 1 hour 28 minutes. It was the 32-year-old’s 14th title on grass and 79th overall.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion improved his record to 46-5 in 12 appearances at the tournament where he made his debut 14 years ago.

It was also Federer’s seventh win from seven meetings with Falla.

The 69th-ranked Falla was the first Colombian to reach the final of a grass-court tournament. He was playing his second on tour after he finished runner-up to Ivo Karlovic at Bogota in 2013.

Although Ivanovic started shakily for the second day in succession, and dropped serve immediately, she recovered quickly, her heavy ground strokes and willingness to attack soon dominating her unseeded opponent, who was playing in her first top-tier tournament final.

It was Ivanovic’s 37th win and her third title of the year, putting her level with Serena Williams’ and Maria Sharapova’s three.

The Serb couldn’t contain her happiness at conquering her doubts about playing on grass. “On grass you really don’t have time to hesitate,” she said.

“I tried to shorten my swing and move forwards. You really have to go after your shots. It’s important to be clear in your mind.”

Ivanovic will move up to world number 11, well positioned to make another move during Wimbledon, which would lift her back into the top ten for the first time in five years.