Rafael Nadal arrives in Halle

Gerry Weber tournament director Ralf Weber welcomes Rafael Nadal to the tournament with a cake at the hotel where he will be staying for the week.

(Images via Yahoo! Sports)

Roger Federer unveils street sign with his name in Halle

Roger Federer was presented with a street sign reading his name near the Gerry Weber Stadium in the city of Halle western Germany yesterday.

Federer will be participating in the Gerry Weber Open here, where he has won the tournament five times!

(Images via Yahoo! Sports)

Tommy Haas upsets Novak Djokovic in Halle final

Tommy Haas proves he's still got it after upsetting Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-1 in the final of the Gerry Weber Open to win his first title on grass.

Haas, 31, became the oldest winner on the ATP tour this year and collected his 12th career title.

The German has now won titles on all surfaces. It is Haas' first title since he won the 2007 Morgan Keegan Tennis Championshps in Memphis.

Djokovic seems happy with the size of his trophy which is not much difference from Haas'.

(Via AP; Images by Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Why I think Tommy Haas' win is better than Andy Murray's

Andy Murray got a kiss from mommy Judy.

Tommy Haas got a kiss from girlfriend Sara Foster, an American actress.

(Images by Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images, Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Novak Djokovic, Tommy Haas reach Halle final

Tommy Haas who once ranked no. 2 back in 2002 (currently no. 41), will be playing his first final since winning the 2007 Morgan Keegan Tennis Championshps in Memphis.

After a great run at the French Open, which he eventually lost to champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, Haas will have a chance to stop Novak Djokovic who is bidding to win his first grass court title.

Haas beat fellow compatriot Philipp Kohlschreiber 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) in an all-German semifinal at the Gerry Weber Open yesterday.

In another semifinals, Novak Djokovic defeated qualifier Olivier Rochus 7-6 (7), 6-4 at this Wimbledon tuneup.

“I had to work hard for my points, especially on his serve,” Djokovic said.

“He has a great touch; he rarely makes mistakes from the baseline. I served well and I tried to change the pace.”

This is Djokovic’s second final on grass, after Queen’s Club last year, which he lost to 2008 Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal.

Numbers wise, Djokovic has the advantage as he has beaten Haas twice in their last two matches.

The 31-year-old Haas has been slowed by injuries. He had his third shoulder operation in 2007.

Haas said the sunshine after wet, cloudy days created shadows on the court that bothered him at the start.

“I was really irritated,” he said. “I was thinking of too many things.”

(Via AP; Images by Philipp Guelland/AFP/Getty Images)

A sneak peak inside Nicolas Kiefer's pants

Nicolas Kiefer retired with an abdominal muscle tear in the second round after down 1-6 against Jurgen Melzer at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle.

(Via Yahoo! Sports)

Roger Federer pulls out of Wimbledon warm up

Finally, Roger Federer decided to pull out of the Gerry Weber Open, his usual grass-court warm-up for Wimbledon, saying he is “overwhelmed” and “exhausted" after his French Open victory.

The withdrawal came two days after Federer’s record-tying 14th Grand Slam victory at the French Open, the only major title that had been missing from his resume.

“I sincerely apologize to the tournament organizers, my competitors, and my fans in Germany," Federer said Tuesday on his website.

"I only hope they will understand that I still feel emotionally overwhelmed and exhausted by the incredible events of the past few days."

“It is hard for me to admit, but I simply cannot imagine giving my best effort in another tournament right away and I don’t want to risk injury if I am not 100 percent prepared."

"I need to rest and recuperate,” the "Grand Slam Man" said.

Federer has won the tournament in Halle five times, and four of those years he went on to win Wimbledon.

(Via AP)

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By the way, before I post this on ebay and other channels, I would like to announce that I have a T-shirt (belongs to a friend) with Roger Federer and Pete Sampras autographs (yes, on the same t-shirt!) from the 2007 Clash of Times exhibition match held in Kuala Lumpur.

There's nothing better than having two autographs of the champions and 14-Grand Slam holders in one T-shirt!

There are only 2 T-shirts of its kind, so it's a limited edition whereby you can't get this elsewhere. Only 1 t-shirt is available for bidding.

Anyone who's interested to bid for this valuable t-shirt, please send your bids to hcfoo7@gmail.com.

The bidding price starts at USD$150.

Please take note that you'll have to take care of the postage. Most likely will be sent via FedEx ;-)

Only serious bidders and die-hard Federer and Sampras fans will be entertained.

Feel free to contact me if you would like to have more info about the t-shirt, the exho event, postage, how to make payment if you won the bid, etc.