Eighth Halle title for Roger Federer

The 33-year-old grass court maestro beat Italian Andreas Seppi 7-6 6-4 in the final and will now head to SW19 full of confidence.

"I hope this is a good omen for Wimbledon," Federer, who was beaten in the 2014 All England final by Novak Djokovic, told gathered reporters.

It was Federer's fourth title of the season after wins in Brisbane, Dubai and Istanbul, and the 86th of his remarkable career.

But an 18th grand slam crown -- with many believing Wimbledon offers his best chance -- is surely top of Federer's wish list and he believes the Gerry Weber Open in Germany offers the best warm-up.

"I was the first to win Halle and go on to win Wimbledon, which I think for the tournament was really important for them to show all the other players around the world that Halle is the perfect preparation for Wimbledon," he told the official Wimbledon website.

"I like that we have a roof here. There's always going to be something going on for TV, media and fans to see. I think it's an ideal preparation."

Federer had to work hard to beat Seppi, who was fresh after his quarterfinal and semifinal opponents Gael Monfils and Kei Nishikori were hit by injuries.

The first set went to a tiebreak, which Federer won for the loss of a single point, while a single break in the second took him over the line after one hour 48 minutes.

Brilliant Murray

Meanwhile, Andy Murray, who will be one of Federer's main rivals at Wimbledon, won the competing ATP 500 event at Queen's Club in London.

It was Murray's fourth title at the grass court tournament, joining John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt on that mark.

The home hope had to play twice Sunday, completing a 6-4 7-6 win over Viktor Troicki of Serbia in a semifinal held over from the previous night due to poor weather.

Murray then beat Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-3 6-4 in the title match, showing the sort of form which had marked his historic Wimbledon triumph in 2013, itself preceded by victory at Queen's Club.

Murray, who has been in superb form since marrying Kim Sears in April, was claiming his third title of the season and 34th overall, moving him level with Arthur Ashe, Michael Chang and John Newcombe on the all-time list.

In WTA final action Sunday, Germany's Angelique Kerber beat Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic for the title at Birmingham, winning 6-7 6-3 7-6.

(CNN)