Australian No.2 Matthew Ebden’s quest to reach the semi-finals of the Halle Open have been ended after a close battle with world No.1 Roger Federer in Germany.
Federer was made to work hard by Ebden, who saved five of the eight break points he faced and was leading 5-3 in the second set.
The 36-year-old Swiss raced through a first set tie-break but struggled to assert himself against Ebden, ranked 59 places below, in the second before eventually overcoming the Australian 7-6 (7-2) 7-5.
Thee 20-times grand slam champion squandered three break points early in the match which allowed Ebden to grab a short-lived advantage.
A handful of errors from Federer opened up two break opportunities for Ebden and the 30-year-old Aussie rallied against Federer’s backhand until he caved and fell 2-1 behind.
Federer broke back immediately to restore parity but after the defending nine-time Halle champion failed to convert an overhead smash, Ebden punished him with a straight forward pass for another break before a wide Federer backhand saw a 5-3 deficit conceded.
Ebden couldn’t capitalise though, as Federer piled on the pressure with quick fire points to even the match at 5-5 and he served out a blistering 65-second game for a slender lead, but that was all he needed.
Federer’s effortless backhand set up a match point, which he duly converted at the first time of asking by outlasting his opponent in a relaxed rally to continue his campaign in Saturday’s semi-finals.
He will face American qualifier Denis Kudla in the final four after he dismissed Japan’s Yuichi Sugita 6-2, 7-5.