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HALLE, Germany: World’s No. 1 Roger Federer defeated Germany’s
Nicolas Kiefer 6-1, 6-4, Saturday for his 58th consecutive win on
grass to reach the final of the Halle ATP tournament.
Federer has yet to drop a single set here at
Halle, his traditional grass-court warm-up for Wimbledon later this
month, where he will bid to win a sixth consecutive title.
In Saturday’s one-sided semifinal, Federer
took the first set 6-1 in just 22 minutes until Kiefer rallied
briefly in the second at 3-2 up, but squandered four break points.
Federer leveled the set at 3-3, before breaking
Kiefer for a 5-4 lead and serving for the match Federer used his
first match point to claim victory in just 65 minutes.
“I served well today and I could go through
Nicolas’ second serve—that helped me a lot, especially in the
first set,” said the Swiss.
He is looking to win his fifth Halle final on
Sunday where he will face Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber, who put
out American second seed James Blake 6-3, 7-5 in Saturday’s other
semifinal.
“I was hitting some good shots although Kiefer
had some nice ones from the baseline,” said Federer. “I am happy
to be in another final.”
-- AFP
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