MASON—Roger Federer didn’t let one frustrating game ruin everything.
The top-ranked player overcame a momentum-changing second set Friday, recovering to beat Nicolas Almagro, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, in the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters.
Federer will face Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals, looking to extend his 10-match winning streak against the Australian. Hewitt coasted to a 6-2, 6-4 win over a heat-sapped Carlos Moya.
Ninth-seeded James Blake also advanced the semifinals by beating Sam Querrey 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 on Friday night in a matchup of Americans. He’ll face fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, who beat David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4 in the last match of the day.
For a few minutes in the early afternoon, it appeared that a tournament full of upsets might have the most stunning one yet.
The 21-year-old Almagro had the crowd behind him during the second set, when he matched Federer shot for shot, moved him around the court and won the only break point of the set.
“I had one really bad game and it cost me the set,” Federer said. “It happens. I’m happy that it doesn’t happen every match.”
It was only the second set Almagro had won off Federer. The Swiss star, however, stopped his momentum right there, breaking Almagro’s serve to go up 2-0 in the third set. After Federer held serve to go up 4-1, Almagro tossed his racket away in frustration, then had his left calf massaged during the break.
Limit
Nothing in Almagro’s past suggested he could give Federer such a tough time. He hasn’t played well on hard courts—he’s 6-17 on the surface—and had beaten him one set in their previous four matches.
This time, he took him to the limit.
In the earlier quarterfinal, Hewitt looked much fresher than Moya at the end of an oppressively hot week. Temperatures on the court reached 110 degrees Thursday, when the 30-year-old Moya sweated out a three-set victory to reach the quarterfinals.
“I’m not 20 years old anymore, so I felt it a little bit,” Moya said.
The 26-year-old Australian had a lot more energy in his game, which has been sharp lately. (AP)
