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Federer remains on course to defend Hamburg crown

17/05/2008

Roger Federer remains on course to defend his Hamburg Masters title after progressing into the semi-finals with a win over Fernando Verdasco.

Federer won 6-3 6-3 and will now take on Italian Andreas Seppi, who defeated home favourite Nicolas Kiefer 6-3 5-7 7-5.

The Swiss Star has struggled to find his best form this season but, having won in Estoril and made the final of the Monte Carlo clay court event, he is showing signs of improvement.

Federer completed a straightforward win over Verdasco, breaking once in the first set and twice in the second as the Spaniard double-faulted on match point.

Verdasco was hampered by an ankle injury and Federer capitalised on his opponent being far from 100 per cent fit.

The other semi-final will be contested between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Serbian could claim Nadal's second-place world ranking if he wins the match.

Nadal has still only lost twice on clay in his professional career so Djokovic will face a tough task to depose the Spaniard.

Djokovic qualified for the semi-finals with a 6-2 6-3 win over Albert Montanes, while Nadal progressed thanks to a 6-1 6-3 win over compatriot Carlos Moya.

Nadal leads in head-to-head matches between the pair 6-3 but Djokovic has won two of their last three meetings.

Djokovic said he would try to stay as "focused" as he would for any other match, while Nadal admitted it was "a bit more special" than a normal Masters semi-final.