Federer eases into seventh Halle final
Roger Federer cruised into the final of the ATP grass-court
tournament here for the seventh time with a 6-1, 6-4 victory against
unseeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny in Saturday's semi-final.
The Swiss second seed showed few signs of fatigue despite scraping
past Canada's Milos Raonic in a third-set tie-break in the last eight on
Friday, and needed barely an hour to see off the world number 31 Youzhny.
Federer fired down eight aces, and remains on course to win the
Wimbledon warm-up event for the sixth time.
He later claimed that saving three break points in the fifth game of
the opening set was vital to his ultimately comfortable win.
"The key for me was coming back from 0-40 then holding that and going
4-1," said the 30-year-old, who was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the
semi-finals at the French Open last week.
"That was a big ten minutes for me and then, once in the lead, I
played a bit more agressive and he was missing quite a few shots, making
it easier for me.
"Overall, I think I played a good tough solid match, especially after
yesterday's shoot-out (against Raonic)".
Federer's previous victories in Halle came in 2003-06 and again in
2008, while he also lost the final to Lleyton Hewitt in 2010.
The Swiss world number three now awaits the winner of Saturday's
second semi-final between defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber and
another German, Tommy Haas.
AFP |