HALLE, June 18, 2018

Roger Federer knows what he has to do during this week’s tournament, the 26th GERRY WEBER OPEN, to stay on top of the ATP rankings: the 36-year-old Swiss has to defend his title from last year, which meant nothing less than clinching his ninth title in Halle.

“I like these kind of challenges,” Federer told on Monday evening at the press conference. “Halle is one of my absolute favorite tournaments. Nowhere have I won more often. It’s always a great pleasure to play here. “

Federer will open his title bid on Tuesday taking on World No. 72 Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia in the first round.“I am still in a great mood,” the Basel native said after lifting the trophy at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart on Sunday. “The matches were not that exhausting. I don’t feel tired.”

After arriving early Monday afternoon, Federer completed a first relaxed practice session with coach Ivan Ljubicic and is looking forward to “a night with hopefully plenty of sleep”.

“Starting on Tuesday will be okay for me. I think that after a win I could recover on Wednesday. Conditions are almost perfect. I’m expecting more and longer rallies than in Stuttgart,” Federer is looking forward to his first match. “