rogerfederer.com - Semis against Kiefer

Semis against Kiefer

Roger eliminated Spain's last player in the Madrid Masters at the semi-final stage as he defeated Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (4), 6-4.

"I couldn't break early on, I was starting to get a bit concerned," our top seed commented, now 57-6 on the season and 6-0 in the series. "But I think I got the upper hand quite early, after five or six games. I was playing well from the baseline, but it would have been nice to break. He served well and only game me one or two chances. He got frustrated midway through the second and gave me the free points I needed to finally break. Otherwise, it would have gone to another tiebreaker."

It was quite a tough fight between Roger and the big-serving Latin lefty Lopez, who has now lost all six of his meetings with our star. It took one hour, 36 minutes for Roger to prevail for his 57th win over the season as he chases a seventh 2007 trophy. He will next meet Germany's Nicolas Kiefer in the semi-final.

Roger advanced just a few hours after home hero Rafael Nadal was embarrassed by David Nalbandian in a first-time meeting. The South American stunned Rafa 6-1, 6-2 to produce his best showing this season.