The dream final in Halle would have been a vintage Federer – Nadal, but Federer – Haas is not that bad either.
Both players are homecrowd favourites. Former world no.2, Tommy is still a myth in Germany with his bright personality and enjoyable tennis. Roger … well… he won the tournament 5 times in here, he has a street named after him in Halle, he speaks a fluent German and … yes.. he is Roger, so you understand how much the local crowd loves him!
FEDERER – YOUZHNY 6-1 6-4
A walk in the park for the world no.3. The difference between the two on this kind of surface is immense. Federer won the first set in no time (25 vs 12 points) to cruise in the second. He had a bit of a Roger moment (a bit lose) when he was 6-1 5-2 up and serving for the match to be broken for the first time. Then the Swiss didn’t miss his second chance to close the second set 6-4.
“It was nice to come out and play some decent tennis after yesterday’s shootout drill,” Federer said, referring to his boom boom win against Milos Raonic.
Roger is now 3 titles away fro John McEnroe “That would be nice but I want more titles. If I only get three more, then the years ahead don’t look too good for me,” Federer joked.
HAAS – KOHLSCHREIBER 7-6 (5) 7-5
This was a completely different match. Both players were quite even. It was a more consistent Haas to grab the win in 1h and 34minutes. “It’s a dream to be able to play him again in the final, he’s a good friend of mine,” said Haas talking about his final with Federer
Head to head. Federer leads 10-2 and 3-0 on grass without losing a set. Roger is the hot favourite for the title.
