Halle (Germany) June 23 (IANS) Defending champion Roger Federer of Switzerland on Saturday defeated United States Denis Kudla 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 to qualify for his 12th Halle Open final where he is looking to claim his 10th title at the German tournament.
Federer the World No. 1 needed one hour and 27 minutes to beat Kudla the World No. 109 making his 20th consecutive grass-court win reports Efe.
Kudla aged 25 proved to be a tough rival for Federer aged 36 and played well in his first semifinal appearance at the Halle Open.
In the final round Federer is set to face the winner of the match between World No. 16 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain and World No. 34 Borna Coric of Croatia.

--IANS kk/vm