Roger Federer will play Alejandro Falla of Columbia in the final of the Gerry Weber Open.
Federer defeated Japan's Kei Nishikori in straight sets in the semis, while Falla got the better of Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber in a hard-fought encounter on Saturday.
After losing the first set pretty easily, Nishikori took the second set into the tiebreaker but the Swiss Maestro prevailed and wrapped up the match 6-3, 7-6(4) to advance to the final. Federer fired 10 aces to reach his seventh final at Halle.
"I'm extremely happy with the way I played today," the 32-year-old said. "I think I played really aggressive, I served well when I had to and I was able to keep the pressure on Kei and at the end I think I deserved to win."
"I played a good tie-break as well to get back into it and now I'm in another final here at the Gerry Weber Open. I love this tournament. I've won it six times before. So I'm hoping to make it seven."
The world number four was pleased by starting his grass-court season on a high, and reaching the final. The seven-time Wimbledon champion said things are looking good for him on grass, and he got good practice against the Japanese opponent.
"I'm very happy that things are going so well for me here this week," Federer pointed out. "I only played a few matches and I'm in the final now. I wasn't sure whether it's a good thing to get a walkover in the quarter-finals because I was really lacking matches on grass. Playing against somebody like Nishikori is a big test."
Meanwhile, after losing the first set, Falla rallied back to win next two to battle past Kohlschreiber 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-4. En route to his win against the former champion, Falla saved six break points and clinched the contest in two hours and 22 minutes.
Falla became the first Colombian to reach the final of any grass-court tournament, while this is his second ATP final appearance. Last time, he finished runner-up to Ivo Karlovic of Croatia at Bogota.
"It's an amazing feeling," Falla said. "I'm very happy for my second final. It's a goal that I had. It's been a great week for me. I fought in every match, I was down many times...The only thing I could do was fight because I wasn't playing that great today in the first set. I think he was playing a little better but I was fighting and then I found my way out."
This will be the seventh meeting between Federer and Falla, and the 17-time Grand Slam champion has got the better of Falla on all previous six occasions.
Where to Watch Live
Roger Federer vs Alejandro Falla is scheduled for a 6:20 pm IST, 5:50 pm GMT start. Global online viewers, including India, can live stream the action HERE or HERE. Euro Sports will have live coverage in the UK but to watch the action online, click HERE or HERE.
