Roger Federer storms to eighth Halle title

Roger Federer got his Wimbledon preparations off to the perfect start as he romped to victory over Andreas Seppi of Italy in straight sets to claim his third straight Gerry Webber Open title and his eighth overall. In a match lasting just shy of an hour and fifty minutes, the Swiss' victory never looked in doubt and he will now head to Wimbledon with every hope of winning his first Grand Slam since 2012.

Federer too good for Seppi

The match proved an exciting affair, with both players showing some excellent tennis, with Seppi hoping to build upon his surprise victory over Federer in this year's Australian Open. And in the early stages, the Italian was not over awed by his opponent, matching him all the way throughout the first set. Despite facing several break points, Seppi was able to force the set into a tense tiebreak with the outcome not altogether clear.

However, this is where Federer began to show his class, brushing off his wasted break point opportunities and quickly grabbing the ascendency in the decider. Brushing aside Seppi to the loss of a single point, the monentum was clearly all with Federer now.

In last year's final, Federer was tested by Alejandro Falla in two twisting tie breaks. But in this year's, history was not to repeat itself, with Federer instead racing through the second set with all of the monentum now fully in his racket.

Coasting to a 6-4 set win and ultimately the full victory, Federer avenged his defeat down under for the second time this year, taking his second victory in a row over Seppi and the head-to-head record to an incredible 12-1.

The Swiss has now won an unprecedented eight Gerry Weber Open titles and becomes only the third man in ATP history to dominate the one tournament to the same extent. He shares this honour with Rafa Nadal (French Open (9), Monte Carlo and Barcelona) and Guillermo Villas (Buenos Aires) and will be hoping he can make it eight titles at SW19.