Tennis – Kohlschreiber-Aus – No German in the semi-finals of Halle – Sport

Halle/Westphalia (DPA) – Veteran tennis player Philip Kohlschreiber made his quarter-final match at Halle-Westphalia a good week before Wimbledon kicks off to build confidence, not frustration.

With a 6:7 (4:7), 2:6 against the top ten Andrei Rublev, the Augsburg player missed the semi-finals and was the last German participant to be eliminated. Unlike superstar Roger Federer or German number one Alexander Zverev, the preparations for the classic Grand Slam Cup have not disappointed for the 37-year-old.

Kohlschreiber satisfied

“A great week,” Kohlschreiber said. “I’m happy and hope to get a decent draw at Wimbledon. If I can keep the level and I don’t have any physical problems, I’m definitely on the right track.” This year’s third Grand Slam tournament begins in London on June 28.

The preparatory tournament in Halle, Westphalia, enters the final weekend after Kohlschreiber left without a German participation. Big names are missing after Federer and Zverev surrendered in the Round of 16. With the exception of Rublev, none of the ranked players made it to the quarter-finals.

4:2 bullets are unused

The long-injured Kohlschreiber started right against the Russian ambition. In the tiebreak, he was initially ahead against the fourth seed in the ranking list. But then Kohlschreiber could not use the 4-2 lead to win the set, and Rublev, who is 14 years his junior, won by five points in a row. After a group trail, the only German player to reach the quarter-finals of this year’s tournament lost his first match in the second round and then never had a chance to come back again.

“I came out on the road that I wasn’t allowed to give him much of a beat. I would also say he did very well in parts,” Kohlschreiber said, but wrangled with his revenue: “It made the difference he made in his service games that he could walk by relaxing” .

First quarter-final in two years

For the former 20-man, it was his first quarter-final entry in two years since he was in the top eight in Munich 2019. At the French Open in Paris, Kohlschreiber stunned by progressing to the third round. In Halle, he defeated Austrian Jürg Rodionov and French Corentin Mutier in the first two rounds. “You can see I beat really good players,” said the Augsburg man.

Rublev will meet Georgian Nikolos Basilachoeli in the semi-finals on Saturday (12 noon), who beat South African Lloyd Harris 6:4, 7:6 (7:5). In the other semi-finals (not before 2:20 pm), Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and France’s Hugo Humbert face each other.

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