Federer loses No. 1 spot as Coric wins Halle final

Halle, June 24

Borna Coric ended Roger Federer’s 20-match winning streak on grass, beating him 7-6(6) 3-6 6-2 in the Halle Open final on Sunday while also bringing to a halt the Swiss maestro’s reign as world No. 1.

Federer was denied a 10th title in the German grasscourt tournament as Croatian Coric handed the 36-year-old his first setback on an otherwise serene road towards defending his Wimbledon title. The defeat meant that Rafa Nadal will return to the top of the world rankings on Monday. World No. 34 Coric, playing in his first grasscourt final, showed great mental toughness and determination to fend off two set points before clinching the opening set after 57 minutes. Federer responded by applying further pressure on Coric’s serve in the second set before converting a break point in the eighth game to force a decider.

The 21-year-old then broke Federer in the sixth game of the final set when the Swiss sliced a backhand long, before claiming only his second ATP title.

It was Federer’s first defeat on grass since a second-round loss to German Tommy Haas at Stuttgart in June last year. He also remains two matches away from matching Jimmy Connors’ all-time record of 174 victories on the surface as he missed out on a 99th career title. 

Cilic saves match point to beat Djokovic for title

London: Marin Cilic was crowned Queen's Club champion for the second time as the Croatian stunned Novak Djokovic with a dramatic fightback in his 5-7, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 victory on Sunday.  Cilic was on the verge of a third loss in the Queen's final when Djokovic held a match point in the second set.  But the world number six survived that threat and then stormed back from 4-1 down to take the second set tie-break.  Inspired by that escape act, Cilic powered through the deciding set to leave Djokovic shell-shocked as he won the Wimbledon warm-up event for the first time since 2012.

Kvitova wins 

Birmingham: Petra Kvitova displayed her credentials for a third Wimbledon title after beating Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova 4-6 6-1 6-2 to defend her title at the Nature Valley Classic here.  Kvitova will now face Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki and Karolina Pliskova in Eastbourne. — Agencies