Roger Federer faces the Australian Matthew Ebden for a place in the Gerry Weber Open semifinals in Halle. A better performance will definitely be needed to the Swiss player than the second round match against the Frenchman Benoit Paire, as on Thursday he had to save two match points. It's the first meeting on the men's Tour between the two players. As always, we offer you all the options to watch the match live, and not necessarily for free. On Sky Sports Arena (Channel 408) on your TV, or through your desktop or laptop using the Sky Go app that you can download both on iOS and Android systems. You can also pay a £6,99 daily pass. Otherwise, digit Tennis TV, visit their website, create our own account, then do a monthly subscription (£9,99) or a yearly subscription (£89,99). ALSO READ: Rafael Nadal may undergo an hair transplant surgery again<doc-sep>When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments Federer booked his place in the semi-finals by overcoming Australia’s Matthew Ebden, being pushed all the way to win 7-6, 7-5. That extended the world No 1’s winning run on grass to 19 matches following wins in Germany over Benoit Paire and Aljaz Bedene having also won the Stuttgart Open last week. The 36-year-old is now only three wins away from matching Jimmy Connors’ all-time record of 174 grass victories, with Federer capable of moving just one away if he goes all the way in Halle. Federer is bidding for his 10th title at this tournament, already holding the record with nine. He goes up against American qualifier Kudla who saw off Yuchi Sugita 6-2, 7-5 following triumphs over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Lukas Lacko, Nikoloz Basilashvili and Guido Pella to reach this stage. This is the second meeting between Federer and the world No 109 having previously met at Indian Wells in 2012 where the 20-time Grand Slam champion won in straight sets.<doc-sep>Roger Federer has reached his 12th final at the Halle grasscourt event (AFP Photo/CARMEN JASPERSEN) Halle Westfalen (Germany) (AFP) - Roger Federer booked his 12th career final at the ATP Halle grass tournament on Saturday, beating qualifier Denis Kudla 7-6 (7/1), 7-5. The Swiss needs to win the title on Sunday - it would be his tenth at the event - to remain world number one heading into Wimbledon. He will face Croatian Borna Coric, who advanced 2-3 when Spanish fourth seed Roberto Bautista Agut had to retire after slipping on the grass and injuring himself. Federer's win over Kudla was his 20th in a row on grass, dating to June, 2017. He sat out the clay court season and began on grass last week with a title at Stuttgart. "I'm very happy, I've never played back-to-back finals on grass in the Wimbledon run-up," Federer said. "This is a first for me." Federer is back in a familiar spot in Halle, which models its Centre Court after its namesake at the All England club, as he works to fine-tune with a Wimbledon title defence starting a week from Monday. "I was happy to win Stuttgart and happy to make another final here. My comeback (after skipping the clay) has been rather successful." "I hope I can find my best game. I've said you usually start playing your best towards the end of a tournament, so hopefully I'm gonna have a good final." Federer needed just under 90 minutes to get the job done and hold off the 109th-ranked Kudla, who had not lost a set going into the semi-final. Taming Kudla was no easy task, with Federer losing a break after taking an early 2-0 lead. The first set went into a tiebreaker where the 20-time Grand Slam winner was able to step his game up a gear, racing to 6-0 in the decider and taking it two points later with his seventh ace. The top-seeded Swiss kept the pressure on Kudla in the second, but expressed a moment of frustration as he drove a ball over the stadium walls after losing a point in the third game of the second set. "I hit out of the stadium every other day in practise," he said. "But it doesn't happen much on live TV. Story continues "But I find it very funny and comical, it makes me smile inside. This is a tough court with a lot of bad bounces. -- 'Winning mentality' -- "But I told myself in the set to shake it off, don't let things bother me, don't get too bad as it happens to both. "I want to do well and win, I have a winning mentality and sometimes I can get unhappy or frustrated." Federer gained the crucial service break for a 6-5 lead as Kudla returned long, and the Swiss closed out the victory a game later on the first of two match points. The 36-year-old has reached the final four in each of his last 14 Halle appearances. Coric, the world number 34 will be playing his first grass final and stands 1-3 in ATP finals on all surfaces. His lone win came in 2017 in Casablanca. He has lot twice to Federer, most recently in the Indian Wells semi-finals last March. "My chances are not big for sure, obviously," he said. "But I'm going to go out there and enjoy it. "I didn’t expect this at the beginning of the week. Today I was a little bit lucky. I’m sorry for Roberto. "But I can rest a little bit now which is good. I’m going to try to win. That’s for sure."<doc-sep>When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments The world No 1 - a nine-time champion at this event - made the final four again courtesy of a hard-fought 7-6, 7-5 win over Matthew Ebden of Australia. That sets him up against qualifier Kudla, who has won five matches to make it this far including beating Yuichi Sugita yesterday. The pair have met once before, way back at Indian Wells in 2012, and while Kudla has impressed in Germany this week - Federer will undoubtedly be the favourite to come out on top. He has won all of his last 19 matches on grass having won Wimbledon and the Stuttgart Open in that run.<doc-sep>
Halle Open: Federer plays stunning backhand against Ebden Federer extended his unbeaten record on grass to 19 consecutive matches with a straight sets win over Matthew Ebden earlier today. But it was far from a comfortable match for the 20-time Grand Slam champion as he had to come back from a break down in the second set. He now remains on course to win a 10th title in Halle but will have to get past American Kudla in their semi-final showdown tomorrow in order to set up a final against either Borna Coric or Roberto Bautista-Agut. And Federer is expecting a tough outing, but is confident of progressing to the final. Roger Federer will face Denis Kudla in the Halle Open semi-finals Roger Federer beat Matthew Ebden in straight sets earlier today Denis Kudla last faced Roger Federer in 2012 “I’ve played him once before in Indian Wells. He’s a good player. I thought he did some great ball-striking today against Sugita,” Federer told the ATP World Tour. “Very sound off the ground, great forehands and backhands, flat and deep and he also uses the slice to good effect and the grass always helps the server. “Maybe we’ll see more rallies tomorrow so it’s going to be more physical for me but also give me a bit more chances because I will have a little bit more time.” Federer hasn’t had an easy route to the final four at the Halle Open, but the 36-year-old was pleased with his overall game against Ebden. Roger Federer awarded trophy after becoming oldest world No 1 Sat, February 17, 2018 Roger Federer has been awarded with a special trophy for becoming the oldest world No 1 in tennis history Play slideshow AFP/Getty Images 1 of 7 Roger Federer poses with a special trophy after becoming the oldest world No 1 in tennis history