HALLE, GERMANY - JUNE 23: Roger Federer of Switzerland plays a forehand in his half final match against Denis Kudla of the United States during day six of the Gerry Weber Open at Gerry Weber Stadium on June 23, 2018 in Halle, Germany. (Photo by Thomas Starke/Getty Images)

Roger Federer beat American Qualifier Denis Kudla in straight sets at 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 to reach his 12th Halle final.

He gets one step closer to winning a 10th title in what is perhaps his favourite “small” tournament. While Federer hasn’t had the best form this week, the Swiss has risen to the occasion on crucial moments, raising his level just enough to get through to the next match. Funnily enough, the scoreline from his semi-final match was the same as his quarter-final match.

Rusty and Grumpy

Federer has not been in his best form, a stark contrast from his overall form in Stuttgart. Not only that, but Federer has been becoming more vocal about his displeasure about his form. He covered his eyes and nodded negatively in a rare and frankly weird display of emotion. He also received a warning after hitting a ball out of the stadium in anger. Federer joked about the incident while speaking to the press, saying:

So, this doesn’t happen very much on live TV but I actually think it’s quite funny and quite comical and it makes me smile on the inside and it gives us something else to talk about as well rather than only talking about break points and stuff.

Analysis and a guess of what Federer is really up to

Federer’s form has seemingly been wonky all week, which could be attributed to playing back to back tournaments after a (near) 3-month break from the sport. However, on a personal note, it feels like Federer is playing the bare minimum required to win matches. He seems to be playing passive throughout the set, except towards the end where he raises his level realising that it is the last opportunity to clinch the set.

While all the grumpiness might be genuine, the above-mentioned tactic might still hold true, except that his expectation isn’t to stretch a set to a tiebreaker.

It is possible that he might deploy the same tactic in the final, where he faces Borna Coric, another player against whom Federer struggled against earlier this year in Miami. Seeing that Coric is still learning to find his footing (haha) on grass, it might seem that this tactic might work again, which is great from an energy conservation standpoint since Federer has never played back to back tournaments where he’s gone the distance before Wimbledon.

Bautista Agut retires hurt

Bautista Agut had to retire hurt in his semifinal match against Coric, after slipping on the grass in the third game. He injured his hip/buttocks in the process and retired at 3-2, casting doubts in his participation for Wimbledon.

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