Roger Federer feeling good after another Halle win

Roger Federer felt he played his best tennis of the week at the Gerry Weber Open as he moved within one match of a stunning 11th final appearance in Halle.

Top seed Federer, who is seeking his ninth title at the grass-court tournament, beat David Goffin 6-1 7-6 (12-10) on Friday to set up a last-four meeting with rising star Alexander Zverev.

Goffin was well beaten in the opening set, but served for the second only to pass up the opportunity.

A satisfied Federer said: "I thought it was my best match thus far. It is a good win for me and I'm clearly very happy to be in the semis."

Assessing the threat posed by 19-year-old Zverev, a 7-6 (11-9) 6-3 winner over Marcos Baghdatis on the Cypriot's 31st birthday, Federer added: "He's got a big serve, he's got a nice backhand, he's improving his forehand and he's moving forward.

"He's going to be a tough player in the future, no doubt about it."

Zverev saved five set points in the opener against Baghdatis, a runner-up in Halle back in 2007.

Saturday's other semi-final will see Dominic Thiem, who beat Federer on the way to winning last week's Stuttgart Open, face Florian Mayer.

Thiem was handed a walkover in his quarter-final when Philipp Kohlschreiber withdrew with a left hip strain, while Mayer beat Andreas Seppi 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.