Federer pleased to progress
Roger Federer was satisfied with his performance after the world number one moved into the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters with a three-set victory over Nicolas Almagro.
The top seed converted four break points and sent down nine aces against the Spaniard in coming through 6-3 3-6 6-2, although a strong display of serving went slightly awry in the eighth game of the second set when two double faults handed Almagro a break and allowed him to even the match in the following game.
With a number of big names exiting early, Federer avoided any upset despite being pushed to a tie-breaker by Marcos Baghdatis in the third round on Thursday and dropping his first set against Almagro.
"I actually think I played better than I did on Thursday," the Swiss star said. "The only problem was I had one really bad game which then cost me the set.
"He's dangerous. Sometimes he returns from the back and sometimes he moves in and really gives it a shot.
"So you have got to be really focused and maybe that was one of reasons I got broken, because I didn't know what to expect."
Federer's opponent in the last four will be Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who dispatched 2002 champion Carlos Moya 6-2 6-4.
On the other side of the draw, fifth seed Nikolay Davydenko advanced with a 6-2 6-4 victory over David Ferrer, while ninth seed James Blake came from a set down to beat Sam Querrey 5-7 6-4 6-4 in an all-American clash.
