Newz Forum: OTHER: TENNIS: Federer destroys Fish

Roger Federer fired a warning shot to his Wimbledon rivals by thrashing Mardy Fish in the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, on Sunday.

The Swiss world number one looked in imperious form as he swept aside the American 6-0 6-3 to boost his confidence further as he looks to defend his crown at SW19 when the tournament gets underway on June 21.

Federer, 22, was at his brilliant best against Fish, breaking the tournament's sixth seed three times in the first set and once in the second. The emphatic victory extended Federer's winning streak on grass to 17 matches.

Big-serving Fish, the only man to take a set off Federer at Wimbledon last year, was unable to get into his stride as the top seed passed him at the net with impressive regularity.

The second set did, at least, have a degree of competition attached to it but Federer still ran out a comfortable winner.

"The way I played this week is fantastic - it's unbelievable," said Federer.

Fish was full of praise for his conqueror, saying: "He played amazing today - he didn't let me do anything I wanted to do."

BBC Sport