THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HALLE, Germany -- For Roger Federer there's no better way to recover from another failed shot at the French Open than to land on the grass courts of Halle, the birthplace of Handel beside the Saale River. Federer lost a third straight final to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros on Sunday, and his worst defeat yet -- he won only four games -- convinced the world's top player that the best remedy was to be found in the cosy confines of Gerry Weber Stadion. "I decided Sunday night to come here. I'm looking forward to grass already," Federer said Tuesday. "This tournament has been really good to me, I've had a lot of success here." Federer is on a 20-match winning streak at the Gerry Weber Open, including four successive titles from 2003-06. He skipped last year's Open because he was tired after a three-hour loss to Nadal at Roland Garros. Without a grass-court tuneup event for the first time, he still went on to win Wimbledon for a fifth consecutive year. "I felt a little nervous about that," Federer said. "I feel positive about this tournament this year. The win streak is very important and means a lot to me. I am well aware of the records I have set. I hope to keep the streak in Halle." Winning Halle in 2003 started Federer's 54-match winning streak on grass. He'd arrived earlier than expected that year because he'd been knocked out in the first round of the French Open by Luis Horna. "I was really down, people were saying that I was talented, but I couldn't win a Grand Slam," Federer said of how he felt that year at Halle. "Now my life is so different, I've enjoyed a lot of success." He beat Sargis Sargsian of Armenia 7-5, 6-1 in the final, and won his maiden Grand Slam title three weeks later at Wimbledon. With the clay-court season over, Federer said there was no reason to think about the French Open defeat. "It is completely out of my head," he said. "That suits me very well. I have rarely suffered that clear a defeat. But it does not make a difference how I lost the match. A loss is a loss and you have to get over it." Federer will open against Michael Berrer of Germany on Wednesday. On Tuesday, second-seeded James Blake started off by beating German qualifier Bjorn Phau 6-4, 6-1 in just 50 minutes. "This was one of my best serving performances this year," Blake said. "That gave me confidence to play my game -- everything just fell into place." Fourth-seeded Mikhail Youzhny defeated fellow Russian Dmitry Tursunov 6-3, 6-1, and No. 5 Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus beat Jan Hernych of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-5. However, two seeds were ousted. Former top-10 player Tommy Haas of Germany saved three match points in downing No. 6 Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 6-7 (0), 7-6 (3), 6-4 on his return from a two-month layoff for a recurring right shoulder injury. "The first set shocked me," Haas said, "But I fought my way into the match and served well -- that's very important on grass." France's Michael Llodra also slipped past No. 9 Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 7-5.
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