Halle, Germany (Sports Network) - Roger Federer rolled into the title match at
the Gerry Weber Open on Saturday with a dominant semifinal win against Mikhail
Youzhny and will face German veteran Tommy Haas for the 2012 crown.
Federer is a five-time champion at this Wimbledon tune-up, taking the title in
four straight years from 2003-06 and again in 2008. He lost in the 2010 final
to Lleyton Hewitt and reached this year's title match with a 6-1, 6-4 thumping
of Youzhny in Saturday's opening semifinal.
Haas then won a matchup of former Halle champions on Saturday with a 7-6
(7-5), 7-5 win over fellow German Philipp Kohlschreiber, who had knocked off
Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals on Friday. Haas captured this title in 2009
and Kohlschreiber won it last year.
There was little drama for Federer on Saturday, as he dismissed Youzhny in an
hour and improved to 13-0 lifetime against Russian.
"It was a good match for me," said Federer. "Mikhail started a bit slow, but I
think I took advantage of it and after that I was able to get on a roll. I'm
obviously excited to be a finalist here again."
The 30-year-old Federer is coming off a semifinal result at the French Open,
but on Sunday will vie for his 75th career title. The Swiss superstar has
already been to four finals in 2012, winning each with victories in Rotterdam,
Dubai, Indian Wells and Madrid. He is 74-30 all-time in finals.
Haas is 12-9 all-time in title matches and will be playing in his first final
since knocking off Novak Djokovic for the Halle crown in 2009. The 34-year-old
Hamburg native's best result in 2012 had been a semifinal loss to Marin Cilic
in Munich last month.
Predictably, Federer has owned the all-time series against Haas with a 10-2
mark. The 16-time Grand Slam champ has won the last nine meetings, including a
straight-set triumph in their last matchup at the 2009 Wimbledon semifinals.
Haas hasn't beaten Federer since the round of 16 at the 2002 Australian Open.
The 2012 Gerry Weber champ will collect $150,000.
The Sports Network