FEDERER BEATS MURRAY, JOINS RAONIC, FERRER, AND BENNETEAU IN CINCINNATI SFs BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 15th August 2014

FEDERER BEATS MURRAY, JOINS RAONIC, FERRER, AND BENNETEAU IN CINCINNATI SFs BY RICKY DIMON

epa04355776 Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a return to Andy Murray of Great Britain in their quarter-finals match of the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament at the Linder Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, USA, 15 August 2014. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

What a difference a year makes.

In 2013, Roger Federer lost in the second round of Wimbledon, got unceremoniously bounced out of two clay-court events, then lost to nemesis Rafael Nadal in the Cincinnati quarterfinals. One summer later, Federer finished runner-up at Wimbledon and the Rogers Cup and he is now through to the Cincinnati semifinals.

The 33-year-old Swiss continued a stellar run the past few months by taking out Andy Murray 6-3, 7-5 in the Western & Southern Open quarterfinals on Friday evening. Federer came back from two breaks down in the second set to advance after one hour and 33 minutes.

Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a return shot to Andy Murray of Great Britain in their quarter-finals match of the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament at the Linder Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, USA, 15 August 2014. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

“I hit the ball well,” Federer said afterward. “I was the more aggressive guy out there. I was having more impact from the baseline and on the serve. “In the second set I lost a little bit of the rhythm. From the baseline he was hitting the ball well; harder and deeper. I snuck in a quick break and next thing you know, I’m back. I feel like I stole that second set.

“I figured at 4‑2 if he has to serve twice to get out of the set, I was going to get another shot. That’s when I started really believing again. That was, looking back now, clearly a big moment.”

“I don’t remember hitting many very good shots after the 4‑1 game,” Murray lamented. In the 4‑3 game I hit like two shots about 10 meters out, which is obviously not great.”

Next up for Federer is Milos Raonic, a 6-1, 6-0 winner over an out-of-sorts Fabio Fognini. Raonic won all 13 of the break points in the match; he saved all seven that he faced and converted all six of his opportunities.

Saturday’s other semifinal will pit David Ferrer against Julien Benneteau. Ferrer held off fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 while Benneteau upset Stan Wawrinka 1-6, 6-1, 6-2.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Andy Murray, Atp, Cincinnati, David Ferrer, Julien Benneteau, milos raonic, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Tennis, Tennis News, Western & Southern Open

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10sBalls_com says:

August 15, 2014 at 9:59 pm

FEDERER BEATS MURRAY, JOINS RAONIC, FERRER AND BENNETEAU IN CINCINNATI SFs BY @RD_Tennistalk http://t.co/6R22d3cNjQ @FedererNews #tennis #RF
RD_Tennistalk says:

August 15, 2014 at 10:05 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: FEDERER BEATS MURRAY, JOINS RAONIC, FERRER AND BENNETEAU IN CINCINNATI SFs BY @RD_Tennistalk http://t.co/6R22d3cNjQ @Fede…