Roger Federer Has Tough Path for 11th Halle Open Title, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Kei Nishikori in His Half

After reaching the fourth round of French Open 2021, Roger Federer has now moved towards his favorite grass court and is bidding for a record 11th Halle Open title next week. However, since the grass-court season is cramped, the draw for the tournament is heavily stacked and features World No.2 Daniil Medvedev and other top 10 members in Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, and Alexander Zverev.

Federer is not only a 10-time champ at Halle but is also the defending champion in 2021. The ATP 500 event was not held in 2020 because of COVID-19 but now it will start the grass season for many of the top players who recently played in Roland Garros.

Federer is not the top seed. He is the fifth seed and headlining the draw is World No.2 Medvedev. The second seed is Stefanos Tsitsipas, the third seed is Alexander Zverev and the fourth seed is Andrey Rublev.

Who all could Roger Federer face at the Halle Open?

The Swiss master’s road towards the 11th title in Halle will start against a qualifier. He could then face young Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime or Miami Open champion Hubert Hurkacz. Then in the quarterfinals, he could face a real test against Medvedev.

Federer’s tough draw then has Zverev or Kei Nishikori in the semifinals. And in the finals, Rublev or Tsitsipas could be his main threats. Federer has never been seeded fifth in Halle and in the past five editions he was the top seed.

Federer is actually on a three-match win streak. He impressed by reaching the fourth round at Roland Garros, however, the Swiss maestro withdrew before his fourth-round match against Matteo Berrettini to preserve his body for the grass-court season.

With its stacked draw, the first round at Halle brings some exciting matchups. Medvedev is drawn against Jan Lennard Struff, who reached the fourth round of French Open 2021. Then Felix Auger Aliassime will take on Hubert Hurkacz and moreover, there is an all-Russian clash between Rublev and Khachanov.

Read more: “No Movement Yet”: Roger Federer Reveals He Is Still Recovering From French Open 2021