Federer loses title bid and No 1 ranking : Coric wins Halle title

Halle Westfalen (AFP): Croatian Borna Coric denied Roger Federer the 99th title of his career on Sunday with a 7-6 (8/6), 3-6, 6-2 defeat in the final of the ATP Halle grass event.

Federer also lost the number one spot in ATP rankings to Rafael Nadal.

He and missed a chance to earn a record 10th title at the German venue.

Federer dropped the opening set in a tiebreak but levelled by winning the second. Coric held his nerve to take victory.

The Croatian outsider ranked 34th also ended Federer's 20-match win streak on grass, which stretched to June, 2017.

The Swiss will drop to second in the world behind Rafael Nadal, who is playing no tune-up events.  

The Spaniard will take to the courts of Wimbledon a week from Monday. 

The loss in just over two hours means came a week after Federer won his 98th title in Stuttgart.