MADRID: World number one Roger Federer continued his progress towards a 10th title of the year with a clinical 6-3, 7-6 win over unseeded American Robby Ginepri in the quarter-finals of the Madrid Masters on Friday.
The 25-year-old, who has never won the Madrid title, will face world number four David Nalbandian in the semis after the Argentine clinched a 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 victory over Marat Safin.
Although Ginepri played some high-quality tennis he was unable to match Federer on the crucial points and could not find a chink in the Swiss player's armour.
Federer pounced on the first break opportunity to go 5-3 up and then serve out to take the opening set. It was level-pegging in the second, but once again Federer moved up a gear at the crucial time to take a tie-break.
The win was Federer''s 80th of the year and extended his winning streak to 17 matches. Nalbandian claimed only his second victory in eight matches against Safin with another gritty display to gain revenge for defeat in the 2004 final in Madrid.
"I think that I'm getting better with every match, but I'll need to be in even better form for tomorrow as it will be very tough," said the Argentine who has a 6-6 career record with Federer.
The 24-year-old, who edged a tight three sets victory over Tim Henman in the third round, took advantage of a succession of unforced errors to put Safin under early pressure and take the first set.
Safin's serve and forehand let him down at the start of the second and Nalbandian used his accurate two-handed backhand to help him manufacture a break in the first game.
