Federer enters 12th Halle final
Halle Westfalen ( Germany), June 23: Roger Federer booked his 12th career final at the ATP Halle grass tournament on Saturday, beating qualifier Denis Kudla 7- 6 ( 7/ 1), 7- 5.
The Swiss needs to win the title on Sunday — it would be his tenth at the event — to remain world number one heading into Wimbledon.
He will face Croatian Borna Coric who advanced 2- 3 when Spanish fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut had to retire after slipping on the grass and injuring himself.
Federer has beaten Coric in both of their previous matches, the latest an Indian Wells semi- final in March .
Federer’s win was his 20th in a row on grass, dating to June, 2017.
Federer needed just under 90 minutes to get the job done and hold off the 109th- ranked Kulda, who had not lost a set going into the semi- final.
The 36- year- old has reached the final four in each of his last 14 Halle appearances.
CILIC DOWNS KYRGIOS TO
REACH QUEEN’S FINAL In London, Marin Cilic powered into his fourth Queen’s Club final as the Croatian won the battle of the big servers with a 7- 6 ( 7/ 3), 7- 6 ( 7/ 4) victory over Nick Kyrgios on Saturday.
Cilic is bidding to win the Wimbledon warm- up event for the second time after lifting the trophy in 2012 and finishing as runner- up in 2013 and 2017.
It will be Cilic’s second final of 2018 following his defeat against Roger Federer at the Australian Open in January.