Roger Federer overcomes Tommy Haas in three sets on Saturday in Halle. Federer is joined in the title match by Mikhail Youzhny, a straight-set winner over Richard Gasquet.
(1) Roger Federer d. (3) Tommy Haas 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Federer scored a comeback win over his double partner in the semifinals of the Gerry Weber Open on Saturday afternoon. The No. 1 seed fired 15 aces while double-faulting only once to advance after one hour and 38 minutes.
Haas, who beat Federer in last year’s Halle title match, maintained his momentum from an outstanding first half of 2013 with a stellar opening set. The 35-year-old German seized a break at 3-2 and he saved all three of the break points against him. Haas won 17 of 19 first-serve points in the opener and he wrapped things up with the set on his racket at 5-3.
Federer fought back swiftly and decisively to begin set two. The third-ranked Swiss broke right away en route to a 3-0 advantage. Federer did not come close to giving the lead back, because he dropped a mere three points in five service games.
Haas continued to play solid tennis for the most part in set three, but his opponent was too good and one horrendous service game doomed him at 1-1. The two-time Halle champion tossed in two of his nine double-faults in the third game to get broken at love. Federer held serve the rest of the way, striking five aces and no double-faults throughout the decider without facing a break point.
Mikhail Youzhny d. (2) Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-3
Youzhny booked a spot in his first final since winning the Zagreb title in February of 2012 when he hammered Gasquet in just 58 minutes on Saturday. The Russian struck four aces without double-faulting and he held all nine of his service games while fighting off two break points in the process.
“It was a high level and I played well,” said Youzhny, who converted three of four break chances and won 73 percent of his second-serve points compared to Gasquet’s 40 percent. “Actually, I think Richard gave me chances to play well. So it was a good match for me.”
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