(June 15, 2013) -- After playing doubles with
Tommy Haas earlier in the week at the Gerry Weber Open,
Roger Federer found himself squaring off against the defending champion to secure a spot in tomorrow's singles final.
Like in last year's finals that saw Haas beat Federer, it was the German who gained the early advantage by taking the first set. But in a match that saw both men try to maintain control over the net, it was Federer who soon jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set.
Federer leveled the match at one set a piece. The former No. 1 was helped out early in the third when Haas double faulted twice to give Federer a 2-1 lead. Haas recovered his form enough to challenge Federer down the stretch, but with his 14th ace of the match, Federer soon held three match points.
A netted forehand from Haas ended the entertaining contest with Federer pulling out the 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.
Federer is now into his eighth successive final in Halle and will be aiming to win his first ATP title of the season.
"It was a great match for me to play and then also to win," Federer told ATP.com "Tommy can play really well here. We saw that last year here and in previous years he’s also been successful. I’m very happy that I was able to maintain really a high level of play."
Youzhny Rips Apart Gasquet to Reach Finals
There will be no meeting of the top two seeds in tomorrow's finals in Halle. That's because unseeded
Mikhail Youzhny of Russia put in a new perfect performance against No. 2 seed
Richard Gasquet in their semifinal later in the day.
Youzhny went up an early break of serve to start the match and with an ace soon held a 3-0 lead. The Russian, who hit only four unforced errors, closed out the 6-3 first set.
Gasquet dropped serve again to start the second set and from there could do little to stop Youzhny who put in a scintillating performance from all sides of the court. Down 1-4, Gasquet did manage to earn two break points. But Youzhny saved them both and then closed out the game with a perfect down the line backhand pass that made the crowd roar with approval
Youzhny ripped a final passing shot winner to close out the match 6-3, 6-2. A delighted Youzhny then acknowledged the crowd with his traditional military-style salute as he celebrated reaching his first ATP final of the year.
The Russian will have to perform just as well if not better against Federer tomorrow. The Swiss star owns a 14-0 lifetime head to head against the Russian.