Federer Ties Borg Record with Halle Title

"To lose a game where you serve two aces, don't make any double faults, it's kind of tough to lose that game," said Federer who lost the game when serving for the match before regrouping in the third. "I was very disappointed to be broken at that stage...You have to be careful not to get too down. Losing the tiebreak really hurts and you think 'Am I going to lose the match too?' And he's jumping around on the other side of the net and before he was walking with his head down. So, it was a pity. But as disappointed as I was, I got up and said 'Let's show that this 6-0 in the first was because I played excellent tennis."

In addition to appearing in his 15th consecutive final, Federer won his 41st straight match on grass, tying the streak of Bjorn Borg, whose grasscourt wins all came at Wimbledon between 1976-81.

It was Federer's fifth title of the year in nine finals, improving to a career 38-13 in finals.

"I'm surprised myself that I came so far. I really thought the draw was exceptionally tough for his kind of a tournament," Federer said. "I know how lucky I got in a couple of matches. I really fought my heart off, and it paid off with the tournament victory and equaling Borg's record."

In the doubles final No. 2 seeds Fabrice Santoro and Nenad Zimonjic beat German wildcards Michael Kohlmann and Rainer Schuettler 6-0, 6-4 to win their second title of the year.