HALLE, Germany (AP)—Roger Federer extended his winning streak at the Gerry Weber Open to 28 matches by defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 6-3 to reach the semifinals on Friday.
The top-seeded Federer has won Halle in his five previous appearances, from 2003–'06 and again in '08. He needed just over an hour to capture the win.
“I am playing well in all areas. I am serving great, so I have no complaints,” Federer said.
He meets Philipp Petzschner on Saturday.
With Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal losing at the Queen’s Club tournament Friday, Federer gained the advantage as he prepares for Wimbledon.
“Who would have guessed that they would all be out before the semis?” Federer said. “If they are not playing any more matches, then they won’t be getting any momentum. You don’t have much time to get fit on grass, so it’s certainly a missed opportunity for them on this surface.”
Lleyton Hewitt reached his first semifinals of the season when he beat German wild card Andreas Beck 7-6 (0), 6-1. Hewitt will face another German in the semifinals, Benjamin Becker.
Hewitt, making his first appearance at Germany’s only grass-court tournament, came back from a break down to win the first set without dropping a point in the tiebreaker.
Beck appeared to lose confidence after losing his serve early in the second set and the eighth-seeded Australian had no problem sealing the set in 24 minutes.
“You never expect a lot from your first week on grass,” Hewitt said. “It always takes you a couple of matches to make the transition from sand to grass. So I am happy with where I am at the moment.”
The 29-year-old Hewitt is back on track after hip surgery.
“The game keeps improving. After I won in Wimbledon, Roger and Rafa took things onto a new level. My motivation is to keep improving. I am training to get better and to try to keep up with those two.”
He had a head start for the grass tournaments after he lost to Nadal at Roland Garros.
“I am lucky enough to be a member at Wimbledon so, as soon as I was done at the French Open, I went to London and had the chance to train there,” he said.