World No 1 Roger Federer eased through to the Halle Open final with a 6-4 7-6 win over Germany's Tommy Haas on Saturday.
Top seed Federer, going for a third successive title at the pre-Wimbledon grass-court tournament, will play Australian Open champion Marat Safin in Sunday's final after the burly Russian overpowered Guillermo Canas of Argentina 6-3 4-6 6-2.
Wimbledon champion Federer produced a superb display of serve and volley tennis to beat local favourite Haas, extending his three-year winning streak on grass to 28 matches.
Meanwhile, Andy Roddick remained on course for a third successive Stella Artois title by beating Radek Stepanek 6-3 2-6 6-2 in the semi-finals of the grasscourt event.
The American will face towering Ivo Karlovic in Sunday's final after the Croatian, who had lost in the first round of his last eight tournaments, put out former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson 6-4 7-6.
Roddick is bidding to join John McEnroe and Lleyton Hewitt as the only players to win three titles in a row at the Wimbledon warm-up event.
"That would be huge,'' the second seed told reporters. "I came in here a couple of years ago not ever having played that well on grass.
Maria Sharapova came through a sticky first set to reach the final of the DFS Classic on Saturday, beating Tatiana Golovin of France 7-5 6-1.
The Russian top seed, who beat Golovin in the final here last year before going on to claim the grasscourt prize at Wimbledon, squandered a 5-2 lead in the opening set before edging it on her fifth set point.
- REUTERS
Tennis: Wins for Federer, Roddick, Sharapova
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