World No.1 Roger Federer beat Australian Open champion Marat Safin 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 to win his third consecutive Halle Open title on Sunday.Top seed Federer, who is also going for a third successive Wimbledon title later this month, produced another masterly performance on grass, his finesse and consistency proving too much for the powerful but erratic Russian.Federer extended his three-year winning streak on grass to 29 matches but is still well short of Bjorn Borg’s record of 41 over five years in from 1976 to 1980.Second seed Safin had beaten the Swiss in their last meeting, saving a match point in a five-set thriller in this year’s Australian Open semi-finals.Hat-trick for Andy LONDON: Andy Roddick won his third successive Stella Artois title with a tight 7-6, 7-6 victory over towering Croatian Ivo Karlovic on Sunday.Russian charge BIRMINGHAM: Maria Sharapova warmed up for the defence of her Wimbledon crown by defeating Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in the final of the DFS Classic grasscourt tournament on Sunday. It was the 18-year-old Sharapova’s 17th consecutive victory on grass.Sania disappointsIn yet another disappointing performance, Sania Mirza failed to qualify for the Hastings Directs International Tennis Championships losing her first round qualifying tie in Eastbourne, England. Sania main draw of the Tier II grass court event as she suffered a 1-6, 7-6 (6), 5-7 defeat against Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand, ranked 64.Bhupathi-Todd outMahesh Bhupathi and Todd Woodbridge stopped short of reaching the final of the Gerry Weber Open Tennis Championship when they retired half-way through their semifinal at Halle. They were trailing 5-7 against Yves Allegro and Roger Federer.
