Roger Federer enters round of sixteen with 1100th victory
Roger Federer has joined the round of sixteen at the ATP tour in Halle after achieving the 1100th victory in his career. The eight-time winner of the German grass tournament beat Japanese player Yuichi Sugita with 6:3, 6:1 on Tuesday.
Federer surprisingly missed a chance to win his 1100th victory last wee in Stuttgart. In Halle, he now only needed 52 minutes to secure his triumph against lucky loser Yuichi Sugita. The Japanese player was often struggling with the speed of Federer’s return and quickly fell behind in both sets. However, when he reached a score of 5:0 40:0, Federer’s concentration faltered and he lost a serve for once.
Originally, Federer should have played against Lu Yen-Hsun at his 61st game in Halle. But the Taiwanese player had to pull out at short notice due to an injury and Sugita became Federer’s new opponent. It was 28-year-old Sugita’s first match against Federer, which followed after a lost marathon match in the last qualification round. During this three-and-a-half hour match, Sugita had lost against Russian player Michail Juschni after three tie breaks.
It was evident that the ATP No. 66 would not last that long against Federer. This year, a quarter-finals qualification in Barcelona was Sugita’s single triumph on the ATP tour. He has won only 20 matches at the highest level during his career so far. Federer now has 1100 victories – only Jimmy Connors achieved more, with 1256 wins. Of the active players, Rafael Nadal is second with 849 wins.
Federer will be playing again in Halle on Thursday. His next opponent, Mischa Zverev, has lost all three matches against the 18-time Grand Slam winner – their last match was particularly brutal with a score of 0:6, 0:6. “This time, I will approach the situation with more focus and seriousness,” the 29-year-old left-handed player promised. Mischa Zverev, who had been long overshadowed by his younger brother Alexander, scored excellent results in the past few weeks.
Basel’s schools should avoid exams during heat waves
Basel-Stadt had been the last German-speaking Swiss canton to abolish the rule for no school during heat waves in 2003. The main reason for this was the fact that short-term closure of schools posed large organisational problems for working parents.
In 1975, there was no school in Basel if the temperature rose above 21 degrees Celsius at 8.30am and if the relative air humidity was at more than 70 per cent. Kindergartens, vocational schools, and day schools were exempt from this rule.
Since the abolishment of no school during heat waves 14 years ago, Basel’s Education Department has appealed to the “common sense” of teachers, it was stated on request. Schools and teachers are responsible for the organisation of the curriculum. However, summer heat should be a factor to be considered, a leaflet about heat waves informed.
Exams other than final exams should be avoided during heat waves. Long tasks that require lots of concentration are also not recommended, and teaching should take place outside if possible, for example in forests, in swimming pools, or in the shade of the school yard.
In addition, school rooms should be aired early in the morning, and in the afternoons direct sunlight should be avoided by pulling down the blinds. Pupils are recommended to drink enough water also in class during heatwaves.
Border guards catch drug smuggler near Muttenz
A man tried to smuggle three kilograms of cocaine from France to Switzerland via Basel by attaching finger stalls to his legs. The Swiss border guards arrested him and his companions.
The border guards noticed the car of the smugglers near Basel, a statement informed on Tuesday. After the border, a third person had joined and entered the car. The vehicle was stopped in Muttenz. Investigations revealed that one of the occupiers, a Nigerian national who lives in Spain, was wanted for arrest by the canton of St. Gallen due to violations of the Narcotics Act.
When searching the 35-year-old man, the border guards discovered a bandage with filled finger stalls, used to protect the fingers after an injury, attached to his legs. The man and his two companions, a Cameroon woman who lives in France and a Cameroon man who lives in Switzerland, were handed over to the police.