Federer, Djokovic and del Potro reach semis in Cincinnati

Cincinnati Masters—Mason, Ohio

No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic took another step forward in claiming his first title in Cincinnati on Friday when he dispatched Marin Cilic for the seventh straight time, 6-3, 6-2.

Pulling out to a 4-1 lead to begin the match, Djokovic struck 27 winners and never lost his serve during the one hour and 21 minute contest.

Winning in Canada last week for the third time in his career, Djokovic will look to avenge a recent loss to Juan Martin del Potro at the London Olympics when he faces the Argentine on Saturday. The Tandil native ended the fairytale run of Jeremy Chardy 6-1, 6-3 earlier in the day.

Chardy had defeated defending champ Andy Murray and former winner Andy Roddick to reach the final eight. The Frenchman was competing in the event as a lucky loser.

Matches that took place later in the day saw Roger Federer pick up his ninth win against Mardy Fish in 10 meetings, and Stanislas Wawrinka join his countryman by taking out young Canadian Milos Raonic in three sets.

For Federer, his road to the semifinals required one hour and 27 minutes to record a 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over the American. Hitting five aces and winning 88 percent of his first serve points, Federer never faced a break point during the high paced encounter.

By contrast, Wawrinka started off his victory in poor fashion before ousting his big-serving opponent, 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.

Overcoming 17 aces by Raonic, Wawrinka won a tight second set which featured no break points before grabing his lone break in the final set. Facing Raonic for the first time in their careers, Wawrinka will take a 10-1 head-to-head deficit against Federer in their final four showdown. The current world No. 26 has lost 12 straight sets against Federer, and last defeated the top seed at the 2009 Monte Carlo tournament.

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