Safin, Federer Meet in Halle Final

Federer sent the homecountry crowd home disappointed with a 6-4, 7-6(8) win over No. 7 seed Tommy Haas, ending the German's quest for his first career grasscourt title.

"It just shows again how calm he stays and it's very motivating as well to see how he does that," Haas said. "He served tremendously today, always finding the line when he needed to and didn't give me many chances to break him."

Federer is now one match away from a third consecutive Halle title.

"I am very, very satisfied," said Federer, who never faced a break point in the contest. "I like the grass surface very much and motivation is very easy for me."

In the final the Swiss will square off against the No. 2 seed Safin, who after a year of explaining his disdain for Wimbledon and grasscourt tennis, finds himself in his first career grasscourt final after a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win over No. 4 seed Guillermo Canas.

Federer has won six of his eight career meetings with Safin, with the Russian winning their last encounter at this year's Australian Open.

"I am very surprised to do that well on grass because it isn't really suited for my game," said Safin, who is also struggling with a knee injury. "I used to have problems because I am so tall and everything is so slippery but I have improved my movements. You need to play with confidence and I have gained a lot this week."

In the doubles semifinals the unseeded Swiss team of Yves Allegro and Federer defeated (1) Mahesh Bhupathi/Todd Woodbridge when Bhupathi retired with a lower back injury after losing the first set, and will face Safin and Thomas Johansson in the final.