Roger Federer's bid for a ninth title at the Gerry Weber Open came to an end Saturday when he was beaten in the semifinals by Alexander Zverev, a rising German prospect who notched the biggest win of his young career. Zverev's 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-3 victory over the top-seeded, eight-time defending champion gave him a place in his first final of the year. He will meet Florian Mayer, who beat third-seeded Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4. It also means that Federer, with 17 Grand Slam titles, still remains without a title in a year marred by knee surgery and a back injury that forced him to miss the French Open. Federer failed to reach the final in Halle for the first time in 11 straight appearances at the grass-court event. Federer's eight titles in Halle are already a record. "I haven't really grasped it yet," Zverev said. "That I would be standing here as a winner, I couldn't have imagined it yesterday." The 19-year-old Zverev was one year old when Federer made his debut on the tour. He is the first teenager to defeat Federer in nearly 10 years, since the Swiss fell to Andy Murray in Cincinnati in 2006. Murray to face Raonic Andy Murray moved a step closer to a record fifth Queen's Club title as the defending champion battled into the final with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Marin Cilic Saturday. Murray was pushed hard by Cilic but eventually subdued the Croatian in a tense two-hour semifinal and will face Milos Raonic for the trophy Sunday after the Canadian third seed defeated Australia's Bernard Tomic 6-4, 6-4. The 29-year-old Scot's primary aim is to hone his grass-court game with Wimbledon starting in just over a week, but he would also relish passing John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Roy Emerson and Boris Becker as the sole owner of the most Queen's crowns. "There have been many great players over the years who have played here so if I can do better than them and win a fifth title, then it is a good sign, but I'm certainly not taking anything for granted," Murray said. Keys reaches final Madison Keys reached the Birmingham grass court final Saturday and moved into the world top 10 for the first time with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) win over Carla Suarez Navarro. Keys is the first US woman to debut in the top 10 since Serena Williams in 1999 and she achieved the breakthrough in explosive style, managing to unleash such a powerful forehand on one point that she destroyed the net. The 21-year-old dropped serve early on against her Spanish opponent, repaired the damage in a rousing second set, accelerated into a 4-2 final set lead, and then twice had to serve to save the match before snatching the result in a tense tie-break. "I only heard about being in the top 10 from my coach and I didn't want to think about it," admitted Keys who will face Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic in Sunday's final. Keys had thought she might have a final against one of her best friends, CoCo Vandeweghe, the 32nd ranked American. Instead Vandeweghe was worn down 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 by Strycova, the Czech who reached her second Birmingham final in three years. Garcia advances to final Sixth-seeded Caroline Garcia advanced to her first grass-court final by beating Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 Saturday at the Mallorca Open. Garcia, who is from France, had seven aces and won 84 percent of first-service points against Flipkens, a 2013 Wimbledon semifinalist. In the final, Garcia faces Jelena Jankovic of Serbia or Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia, who play later Saturday.
