 Djokovic admitted he had not been at his best in the match |
Novak Djokovic reached the final of the Halle grass-court tournament despite an error-strewn display as he beat Olivier Rochus 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 on Saturday. The world number four went 4-1 up in the first set before letting Rochus back in, taking it to a tie-break. He was similarly misfiring in the second set, opening up a clear lead before only clinching victory on his fourth match point. His final opponent will be Tommy Haas, who beat Philipp Kohlschreiber. World number 41 Haas has already beaten one top-10 player on his way to the final - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round - and Djokovic admitted he would need to improve considerably to avoid falling victim to the German.  | 606: DEBATE |
"I may be ranked higher than him, but you can't say I am the favourite, especially the way he has been playing," said Djokovic. Haas recovered well after losing the first set of his semi-final to see off his fellow German 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3), and admitted it had taken him some time to find his rhythm. "It was a tough start for me, I wasn't happy with my racquet, the sunshine, the speed of the ball - I was thinking about other things and not concentrating enough," said the former world number two, whose ranking has slipped as a result of a shoulder injury. "I was happy to force a tie-break in the second set, because I thought he had the upper hand. "I was surprised I could turn things around, it is special for me to be in a final." The match against Djokovic will be Haas's first final on the ATP Tour since Memphis in 2007.
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