Roger Federer advances to Gerry Weber Open final

Halle, Germany — Seven-time champion Roger Federer advanced to his 10th final at the Gerry Weber Open where he will play Italy’s Andreas Seppi.

Federer defeated big-serving Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) Saturday while Seppi won the other semifinal after second-seeded Kei Nishikori pulled out injured when the Italian was leading 4-1.

The Japanese player had his lower left leg bandaged and was in clear discomfort.

Seppi also had a short quarterfinal on Friday when fourth-seeded Gael Monfils pulled out with a right knee injury when Seppi led 6-1, 1-0.

In contrast to Federer, Seppi was playing his first semifinal in his sixth appearance at Halle.

Federer won just five points on Karlovic’s serve in the first set but made a mini-break to go 4-3 up in the first tiebreaker. He won the set on Karlovic’s double-fault.

In the second tiebreaker, Federer correctly challenged a call that would have put Karlovic ahead 4-3 and secured another mini-break when Karlovic hit a return into the net. He took the first of two match points to wrap up the match in 1 hour, 28 minutes.

“I’m relieved to have got through the match. It was always my aim to defend the title,” said Federer, who will be going for his third straight at Halle on Sunday.