Kohlschreiber cruises into Halle final
Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber will be bidding to win only the third ATP title of his career in Sunday's final of Halle's tournament following his semi-final win over France's Gael Monfils.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: June 11, 2011 08:22 PM IST
Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber will be bidding to win only the third ATP title of his career in Sunday's final of Halle's tournament following his semi-final win over France's Gael Monfils.
The German will now face either 2007 champion Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic or compatriot Philipp Petzschner in the final after his win over third-seed Monfils 6-3, 6-3 in Saturday's semi-final.
Having won ATP tournaments in Munich in 2007 and Auckland in 2008, this is the second time Kohlschreiber has reached the final in Halle, having lost the 2008 tournament finale to Roger Federer.
Despite normally struggling on grass, Monfils has surprised himself by playing extremely well in Halle and has become a crowd favourite, but offered Kohlschreiber little resistance when it mattered most.
The Frenchman seemed to let the occasion get to him as he double-faulted six times in the match, five of which came in the first set alone.
Despite Halle's turf favouring the big hitters, the contest was more about finesse than power-hitting as Kohlschreiber produced the only ace of the match in the second set.
Kohlschreiber needed only 77 minutes to claim victory and the scalp of Monfils, ranked ninth in the world.