Federer wins in Halle to equal Borg's record

BERLIN, June 18 (Reuters) Wimbledon champion Roger Federer equalled Bjorn Borg's record of 41 consecutive victories on grass with a 6-0 6-7 6-2 victory over Czech Tomas Berdych in the final of the Halle Open today.

''This is a top moment for me. Coming straight after the French Open, it was a really tough week for me,'' Federer said.

''Halle has always brought me luck in recent years. I hope that remains the case.'' Wimbledon starts on June 26.

Federer, who was less than convincing in his previous two matches against Olivier Rochus and Tommy Haas, took the first set against fifth seed Berdych in 20 minutes.

However, the Swiss world number one started making unforced errors and although he served for the set at 5-3, Berdych held and went on to take the tiebreak 7-4.

Federer, who lost last week's French Open final to Rafael Nadal, increased the pressure on Berdych and broke for 2-1 and 5-2 to take the match.

Sweden's Borg, a five-times Wimbledon champion, set the open era record for consecutive wins on grass from 1976 to 1981.

REUTERS AY PM1903