Roger Federer uncharacteristically failed to nail two match points as Dominic Thiem stunned the top seed on the grass in the rain-disrupted Stuttgart semi-finals on Saturday. The Swiss legend, who is returning from a back injury that ruled him out of the French Open, saw his preparations for Wimbledon unravel as Thiem battled through 3-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4.
The third seed Thiem, a Roland Garros semi-finalist who moved into the ATP top 10 only this week, will play for his fourth title of the season on Sunday against Juan Martin del Potro or Philipp Kohlschreiber. "You're always a little disappointed when you lose with match points," Federer said after surrendering the match points that would have given him a straight-sets victory. "But losing any match is not that great." The contest was halted twice for a total of an hour by rain showers, but Federer - who turns 35 in August - did not attempt to make any excuses.