Roger Federer lost the final of the Gerry Weber Open on Sunday, while Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray were knocked out early in tournament ahead of Wimbledon, which begins on June 25.
The Swiss reached the final of the grass-court Halle tournament, where he was surprisingly knocked over by local hero Tommy Haas 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.
“I should never have lost the first set, so that hurt. He got momentum after that,” Federer said.
“I’m just really happy for him … happy that he’s been able to fight off so many injuries and come back and still believe in himself, still want to travel, still want to sacrifice his family (life) too.”
Meanwhile, Haas had eliminated Czech Tomas Berdych on his way to glory, while his compatriot Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated French Open winner Rafael Nadal in the quarters 6-3, 6-4.
Nadal said after the defeat he was looking forward to having a rest in Mallorca, ahead of Wimbledon.
“I’ve played almost every match possible since Indian Wells. When I’m ready to come back, I’ll go to Wimbledon,” Nadal said.
“I can’t practice on grass there but it’s better not to practice for a few days. It’s time to rest with my family, friends, to relax.”
At the Queen’s Club event in London, it was Croatian Marin Cilic who won the final in controversial circumstances after David Nalbandian, who was one set up, was defaulted for kicking an advertising fence which cannoned into a referee’s leg.
Meanwhile, world number four Andy Murray – who won last year’s Queen’s event - was eliminated for the event in the second round by Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-1).
Murray, who struggled at the French Open with a back complaint, said he didn’t move very well early in the game, sparking speculation about his injury.
“I don’t think it went all wrong. It was a very close match but losing serve in the third set after breaking him wasn’t great. It got him back into the match,” Murray said.
“I didn’t move very well at the start of the match, but he’s a very good grass court player. He’s been in the final here and he played well today.”
Second seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also battled, losing in the third to Ivan Dodig, while Andy Roddick’s poor recent run continued bowing out in the second to Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
The UNICEF Open in the Netherlands and the AEGON International in Eastbourne will both take place this week, with most big names sitting them out.