A quartet of veterans will be on display to headline a stellar semifinal lineup on Saturday in Halle. Roger Federer is facing Tommy Haas while Richard Gasquet is going up against Mikhail Youzhny.
(1) Roger Federer vs. (3) Tommy Haas
Haas and Federer will be meeting for the 14th time in their careers and for the first time since the final of this same event last year when they clash in the Gerry Weber Open semis on Saturday. Federer is dominating the head-to-head series 10-3, but Haas triumphed 7-6(5), 6-4 last summer to take home the Halle title. The third-ranked Swiss has won three of their four previous grass-court encounters, including a 7-6(3), 7-5, 6-3 victory in the 2009 Wimbledon semifinals. They also faced each other at this same stage of the 2006 Halle tournament, with Federer prevailing 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3.
At 35 years old, Haas is still playing some of the best tennis of his illustrious career. He is 27-10 for the season and is one spot away from breaking back into the Top 10. Haas, a recent French Open quarterfinalist, ousted Ernests Gulbis in straight sets on Wednesday before overcoming Gael Monfils 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3. Federer, bidding for his sixth Gerry Weber Open winner’s trophy, also earned an opening-round bye as the No. 1 seed. The third-ranked Swiss eased past Cedrik-Marcel Stebe 6-3, 6-3 before humiliating Mischa Zverev 6-0, 6-0 on Friday. Still in search of his first 2013 ATP title, Federer is 24-7 for the season.
Something will have to give when these two friends and doubles partners (they lost on Monday in the first round) collide. Haas’ current form would rival almost anyone on tour other than Rafael Nadal right now, he will have home-court advantage on Saturday, and he is a two-time Halle champion. Although Federer has not been on fire of late, his is a five-time winner of this event. Furthermore, the 31-year-old is arguably the best grass-court player in the history of tennis.
Pick: Federer in 3
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Mikhail Youzhny vs. (2) Richard Gasquet
Youzhny and Gasquet will be squaring off for the ninth time in their careers and for the second time this season when they clash on Saturday. Gasquet evened the head-to-head series at four wins apiece thanks to a 6-3, 6-4 victory in round three of the Miami Masters in March. The two veterans have never faced each other on grass (seven on hard courts, one on clay–a 2007 Davis Cup shown won by Youzhny 8-6 in the fifth set at home in Russia).
Gasquet is an outstanding 30-9 for the season and he already has very real World Tour Finals aspirations. The ninth-ranked Frenchman is bouncing back nicely from an epic five-set loss to Stanislas Wawrinka at the French Open thanks to straight-set dismissals of Jurgen Melzer and Florian Mayer. Youzhny, the only unseeded man still alive, has taken out Daniel Gimeno-Traver, Kei Nishikori, and Philipp Kohlschreiber so far in Halle. The 30-year-old continues to emerge from an early-season slump and he is now a decent 16-13 for his 2013 campaign. In a matchup between similar players, Gasquet has a marginal advantage on serve and on power off the backhand side, which should help his chances especially on grass.
Pick: Gasquet in 3
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