Federer, Wawrinka set up all Swiss semi final

By Bill Scott Nov 4, 2011, 22:13 GMT

Basel, Switzerland - Roger Federer concluded with a one-two ace attack to win his 21st match against Andy Roddick 6-3, 6-2 and claim a semi-final place at the Swiss Indoors against good friend and compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka.

Wawrinka did his part by hammering Germany's Florian Mayer 6-2, 6-2 to get another chance at Federer after losing three times to his celebrated co-national this season.

Federer said he could not be happier with three wins this week after six weeks off the court with minor injuries.

'It's special to play Stan because we are the top two Swiss and this match is in Switzerland,' said the Basel-born four-time winner. 'There are no secrets between us. We've played 10 times and have practised together many more.'

The 64-minute win over a clearly frustrated Roddick was one-way traffic for Federer, who ran away with it after winning the opening set and breaking to start the second.

'It was a tough day for Andy, he wasn't at his best,' said Federer. 'He was good in the first six games but then I started to take control.'

Top seed Novak Djokovic rallied from a set down to continue his back injury comeback - also six weeks out - with the world number one defeating Marcos Baghdatis 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Djokovic said he was pleased to overcome a slow start against Baghdatis, a 2005 finalist. A break mid-way through the second set made the difference for the Serb.

'In the first set, I had no life on the court,' confessed the Serb. 'But I made the crucial break at 3-2 and that was the key to the match.'

'I had my chance to come back in the match and I did. I know my game will get better. I'm just impatient for that to happen.'

Djokovic said that while he knows it will take days for his game to return to its former world-beating level, he's keen to make the return as quickly as possible.

'It's frustrating not to be able to do what you want on the court. I just have to stay patient. These kind of matches - he also struggled in the first round - are good for me.

'I'm building confidence and form,' he said.

Japan's Kei Nishikori has had a solid Basel debut, beating fourth seed Tomas Berdych in the first round. The Japanese player, ranked 32nd, spent two hours, 40 minutes carving out his victory over Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.

Nishikori, usually coached from a distance on email by San Francisco coach Brad Gilbert, said he could have made life easier on himself.

'Another semi-final is a great result,' said the player who will get a Special Exempt entry into Paris Bercy next week. 'It's a great feeling.'