HALLE, Germany, 13 June 2005 — World No. 1 Roger Federer beat Australian Open champion Marat Safin 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 to win his third consecutive Halle Open title yesterday.
Top seed Federer, who is also going for a third successive Wimbledon title later this month, produced another masterly performance on grass, his finesse and consistency proving too much for the powerful but erratic Russian.
Federer extended his three-year winning streak on grass to 29 matches but is still well short of Bjorn Borg’s record of 41 over five years in from 1976 to 1980.
Second seed Safin had beaten the Swiss in their last meeting, saving a match point in a five-set thriller in this year’s Australian Open semifinals. They had never previously met on grass.
Roddick Claims Third Straight Stella Title
In London, Andy Roddick won his third successive Stella Artois title with a tight 7-6, 7-6 victory over towering Croatian Ivo Karlovic yesterday.
The American joined John McEnroe and Lleyton Hewitt as the only players to win three titles in a row at the Wimbledon warm-up event following a disciplined performance at Queen’s Club.
Playing his first ATP-level final, Karlovic, at 6ft 10ins the tallest man in professional tennis, showed no sign of nerves but was outplayed on the big points by his more experienced opponent.
The tournament, however, has been a big success for the Croatian whose world ranking of 77 will improve after victories over top seed Hewitt and former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson.
Karlovic, a first round loser on 10 occasions in 2005, had beaten just three players all year heading into Queen’s but his massive serve and mammoth reach are ideally suited to grasscourt tennis.
Sharapova Retains Birmingham Title
Maria Sharapova warmed up for the defense of her Wimbledon crown by defeating Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in the final of the DFS Classic grasscourt tournament Sunday.
The Russian was pushed to three sets for the third time this week but came through in a little under two hours to take the title for the second year running
The top seed suffered a blip midway through the second set, before moving through the gears to down the 20-year-old Serb.
It was the 18-year-old Sharapova’s 17th consecutive victory on grass and her 10th career title.
