Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/841483
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 25 JUNE 2017 53 Sport TENNIS Federer to face Zverev in his 11th Halle final TOP seed Roger Federer will challenge for a ninth Halle Open title against Alexander Zverev after reaching the Wimbledon warm-up event final with a 6-4 7-6(5) win over rising Russian talent Karen Khachanov on Sat- urday. The 18-times grand-slam champion, who captured the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami titles this year, skipped the entire claycourt sea- son to improve his chances of winning a record eighth title at the All England Club. He will now face 20-year-old Zverev in a rematch of last year's semi-final, which the German won. Zverev booked his second successive final spot when he beat Frenchman Richard Gas- quet 4-6 6-4 6-3. Gasquet, a two-time Wimble- don semi-finalist, grabbed the first set against Zverev with a break at 5-4. But he quickly fell behind in the second as Zverev, a finalist last year, who has already won three titles in 2017, charged to a 4-2 lead and held on to take the set. The world number 12 booked his final spot after breaking at 3-3 and finishing the Frenchman off with another break to set up the showdown with Federer. Despite a shock exit from Stutt- gart on his comeback last week, Federer has improved in Halle and has not lost a set. "I thought it was extremely close, especially that second set," Federer, who has never won a tournament nine times, told re- porters. "I'm still just very happy how I was able to close it out in the (tie-)breaker," said the 35-year- old. He and Khachanov, 21, traded breaks in the first two games but Federer grabbed a second one to restore his advantage and clinch the first set on his second set point. The Swiss lured the youngster to the net on several occasions, including at 4-4 in the second set when the Russian dumped a fore- hand volley into the net to give Federer two break points. But instead of serving out the set, the top seed was broken again and the Russian even held two set points at 6-5 before the world number five recovered and forced a tiebreak. He converted his first match point to reach an 11th Halle final. Switzerland's Roger Federer WTA Aegon Classic: Petra Kvitova reaches first final since stabbing incident Petra Kvitova has qualified for her first final since her career-threatening stabbing THE Czech will compete in the final of the Aegon Classic in Bir- mingham after last-four opponent Lucie Safarova retired. Two-time Wimbledon winner Kvitova was stabbed at her home in December and could have lost her career, escaping instead with hand injuries. This is just her second tourna- ment since her return and she can now crown it with a trophy after Safarova withdrew, with Kvitova leading 6-1 1-0. "I am enjoying playing again," she told BBC Sport. "I couldn't play for five or six months and I missed it. It wasn't my choice to have a break but I al- ways try to see positive things. "I'm trying to enjoy tennis more and seeing things from a different angle." The seventh seed will meet Ash- leigh Barty on Sunday after she took the biggest scalp of her career in her semi-final. The world number 77 lost the first set to the sixth-seeded Gar- bine Muguruza but fired back to win 3-6 6-4 6-4. Petra Kvitova: Into the Aegon Classic final British player Evans tests positive for cocaine BRITISH player Dan Evans has been provisionally suspended af- ter admitting on Friday that he had failed a doping test for co- caine at the Barcelona Open in April. The world number 50, who reached his first ATP Tour final this year in Sydney and has played for Britain in the Davis Cup, re- leased a statement at a news con- ference in London. "This is a very difficult day for me and I wanted to come here in person and tell you guys face to face that a few days ago I was noti- fied that in April I tested positive for cocaine," the 27-year-old from Birmingham said. "It's really important to know that this was taken out of compe- tition and in a context completely unrelated to tennis. "I made a mistake and I must face up to it. I do not condone for one second that this was accept- able behaviour," Evans added. "I've let a lot of people down, my family, my coach, my team, spon- sors, British tennis and my fans and I can only apologise from the bottom of my heart." Evans, who pulled out of this week's grasscourt tournament at Queen's Club due to injury, will be provisionally suspended from June 26 and will not be able to play at next month's Wimbledon championships. "Mr Evans was charged on 16 June with an Anti- Doping Rule Violation," the Inter- national Tennis Federation's Anti- Doping Programme (TADP) said in a statement. "Mr Evans has accepted the finding of cocaine in his sample collected on 24 April. "As positive tests for Non-Spec- ified Substances carry a manda- tory Provisional Suspension, Mr Evans will be provisionally sus- pended with effect from 26 June... pending determination of the case." Evans has enjoyed the best spell of his career in the past 18 months having dropped outside the top 700 two years ago. After reaching the final in Syd- ney he made the last 16 at the Australian Open where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. At the Barcelona Open he won his first Tour-level matches on clay, reaching the last 16 before losing to Dominic Thiem. The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) said it was "very disap- pointed" at the news. "We absolutely condemn any form of drug-taking and will sup- port the process which needs to take place," it said in a statement. "We are in touch with Dan and we will offer appropriate guid- ance, support and education to him on how best to address the issues he now faces." Evans is not the first tennis play- er to fall foul of cocaine. French- man Richard Gasquet escaped with a two-and-a-half month ban in 2009 after an ITF tribunal panel ruled that he inadvertently took cocaine by kissing a woman in a nightclub. In 2007, former world number one Martina Hingis said she had tested positive for cocaine dur- ing Wimbledon that year and promptly announced her retire- ment from professional tennis. The Swiss five-times grand slam singles champion was banned for two years but has since returned to the tour as a successful doubles player.