Haas edges past Kohlschreiber to reach Halle final

By Karolos Grohmann

HALLE, Germany (Reuters) - Former world number two Tommy Haas came from a set down to beat fellow German Philipp Kohlschreiber 2-6 7-6 7-6 on Saturday and reach the Halle tournament final.

World number four Novak Djokovic takes on Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus in the other semi-final.

Kohlschreiber, 25, who beat Haas at Halle last year in their only other encounter, broke his opponent twice in the first set to go 5-2 up.

The world number 24 then fired two aces on his serve to clinch the first set after 28 minutes.

Both players confidently held serve in the second, giving away only a solitary break opportunity each, to take it to a tie break with 31-year-old Haas, ranked 41st, getting the better of his opponent.

Haas fought back from 5-2 down in the third to force a tie-break and clinch it on his third match point with an ace. The final will be his first for more than two years after missing much of 2008 with a shoulder injury.

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