rogerfederer.com - Roger in the semis

Roger in the semis

Roger didn't look his sharpest, but cruised into the semifinals Friday in Cincinnati, defeating unseeded Argentine Jose Acasuso 6-4, 6-3 in just over an hour.

"I'm No. 1 in the world, so I don't want to give away wins just like that, as presents," he said. "I want to make sure when I'm playing, I'm on, and when I'm not feeling well, I don't play. Like in Montreal I didn't feel like I was ready yet. So I'm very happy to see that when I come here, I feel like I'm ready."

In the semifinals Roger will face unseeded American wildcard entrant Robby Ginepri, who routed a knee-addled and frustrated No. 4 seed Marat Safin 6-2, 6-3 in under an hour.

"I didn't practice for one month and a half and I played three matches in a row and today I felt really, really tired on the court," said the racquet-smashing Safin, his knee covered by an ice bag after the match. "I couldn't move properly and I couldn't find my game. My timing was not there. So it's really difficult to play against any player."