Roger Federer Stunned By German Teenager, 19 yr Old, Alexander Zverev, in Halle

Teenage German Alexander Zverev caused a major shock on Saturday as he beat eight-time winner Roger Federer in the Halle grasscourt semi-finals.

Zverev, 19, triumphed 7-6 (7/4), 5-7, 6-3 to reach only his second ATP Tour final after being beaten by Austria’s Dominic Thiem on clay in Nice, France last month.

The German teen could yet meet Thiem in the final again this time as the Austrian faces another home player in Florian Mayer in Saturday’s second semi-final.

Swiss veteran Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam winner, had won the last three Halle Open tournaments but he met his match in the spirited world number 38.

Error-strewn Federer's vulnerability on his favourite surface could perhaps be explained by a back injury that made the 34-year-old miss last month's French Open, but this was not the build-up to Wimbledon that the Swiss ace wanted.

Federer hasn't won a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2012 and given the form of world number one Novak Djokovic, Federer's current level would unlikely see that run come to an end.

The 1.98m (6'6") Zverev is already guaranteed to improve his career-high ranking in Monday's new list to inside the top 30.

He took the first set on a tie-break having lost just four points on serve and firing 14 winners.

Federer earnt the first break of the match at 5-5 in the second with a sublime drop shot before finishing off the set with two service winners.

But a backhand error from Federer gave Zverev the crucial break in the sixth game of the deciding set.
Federer was unable to battle back from there and he fails to reach the final in Halle for the first time in his last 11 attempts.