Federer advances to Indian Wells semifinals

Indian Wells (United States), March 21 (IANS/EFE) Swiss great Roger Federer put on a master class here on Friday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open, dismissing big-hitting Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-0 in just 69 minutes.

In a match played in near-perfect conditions on Stadium 1, Federer did not face a single break point and put constant pressure on Berdych's service games.

The 33-year-old No. 2 seed squandered one break-point opportunity in the fifth game, but he made no mistake two games later in snagging a 4-3 lead and then held serve two more times to wrap up the set.

After committing 14 unforced errors over the first 10 games, the ninth-seeded Czech needed to play more solidly to get back in the match but instead put himself in a deeper hole by losing serve to start the second set.

Up a set and a break, the Swiss' confidence soared and he brought out his full arsenal of weapons, including deft drop shots that wowed the pro-Federer crowd and demoralised Berdych.

The four-time champion improved his 2015 record to 15-1 (the only loss coming against Italy's Andreas Seppi in the third round of the Australian Open) and will take on the winner of the final men's quarterfinal contest pitting No. 3 seed Rafael Nadal of Spain against big-serving Canadian No. 6 seed Milos Raonic.

No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia and British No. 4 seed Andy Murray will square off in Saturday's other men's semifinal.

The BNP Paribas Open is one of the biggest hard-court events on the tennis calendar.

--IANS/EFE

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