Federer, Nadal reach Hamburg Masters semis

May 18, 2007, 20:21 GMT

Hamburg, Germany - Top-seeded and three-time titlist Roger Federer and clay-court king Rafael Nadal highlighted Friday's quarterfinal winners at the Masters Series Hamburg, a French Open tune-up.

The world No. 1 Federer held off 12th-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 on the red clay at Rothenbaum. The super Swiss is now a perfect 7-0 lifetime against Ferrer.

The Swiss Federer was the back-to-back Hamburg titlist in 2004 and 2005 and also titled here in 2002. The 10-time Grand Slam champ has struggled a bit in recent weeks, as he's seeking his first title in five tournaments.

Federer's semifinal opponent here on Saturday will be unseeded former world No. 1 Spaniard Carlos Moya, who upended fourth-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 7-5 on Friday. The veteran Moya was the 1998 French Open champ.

The 25-year-old Federer (505) and 30-year-old Moya (522) are the only two active ATP players with more than 500 wins. The last time two players with more than 500 wins met was in the third round of the 2003 U.S. Open, where Andre Agassi defeated Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Federer is a perfect 6-0 all-time against Moya.

A second-seeded Nadal defeated fifth-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez for the second time in six days, this time with a 6-4, 6-4 decision. The reigning two-time French Open champion Nadal also topped the 2007 Australian Open runner-up Gonzalez in straight sets in this past Sunday's championship bout at the Italian Masters event in Rome.

Nadal's record clay-court winning streak now stands at 80.

The amazing Nadal is seeking his fourth title in four clay-court events so far this year. He's already captured three Masters Series tournaments in 2007, including two on his beloved dirt.

Nadal is trying to become the first player to win all three Masters Series events on clay (Monte Carlo, Rome, Hamburg) in the same year since the series began in 1990.

Up next for Nadal will be 16th-seeded former world No. 1 Aussie Lleyton Hewitt, who got past Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-4 on Day 5.

The two-time Grand Slam titlist Hewitt is 4-1 lifetime against Nadal, but the Spaniard is 1-0 in the series on clay, with the victory coming in the fourth round at Roland Garros a year ago.

Three of the four men still standing this week have held the world No. 1 ranking (Federer, Hewitt, Moya).

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