World number one men's tennis player Roger Federer has reached the semifinals of the Gerry Weber Open grass-court tournament in Halle, Germany.
Federer, the top seed, scored a straight-set win over Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3, 6-4. The Swiss player takes on another German in the final four - Tommy Haas beat Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets (6-2, 7-5).
Meanwhile, Russia's Marat Safin came within two matches of his first grass-court title by ousting Olivier Rochus of Belgium (6-4, 7-6). The Russian plays fourth-seed Guillermo Canas of Argentina, a straight-set winner over German Rainer Schuettler (6-4, 6-4).
Federer is coming off a semifinal loss to Rafael Nadal of Spain at last week's French Open in Paris. Federer is a two-time Wimbledon champion, and will defend his title beginning June 20th at the All-England Club in London.
Some information for this report provided by AP.