By DPA
Cincinnati (Ohio) : World no.1 Roger Federer shrugged off a dropped set to beat Spain’s Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 for a place in the semi-final at the Cincinnati Masters against Lleyton Hewitt.
Federer admitted that he let go for a moment against his 32nd-ranked opponent, allowing Almagro momentarily through a crack in the door in Friday’s match.
“I actually think I played better today than I did yesterday,” said Federer, the 2005 champion, after the match.
“The only problem was I had one really bad game, which then cost me the (second) set. It was a pity I couldn’t create myself more chances in the second set.”
The Swiss player will run into the un-seeded Hewitt for the second consecutive week after beating the Australian in the Montreal quarterfinals.
The Aussie, coached by Federer’s former mentor Tony Roche, rewrote his own recent history, defeating Spain’s Carlos Moya 6-4, 6-2 to bag a semi final berth.
That result helped him avenge a loss in the final five years ago at Cincinnati.
James Blake will play a semi-final after defeating Sam Querrey 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. The ninth seed will take on Russian number five Nikolay Davydenko, who beat Spain’s David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4.
Federer has won his last 10 matches and stands 12-7 overall against Hewitt. But even that record is no cause for confidence.
“I may have won them, but until last week we hadn’t played for two years. There are plenty of guys who can make it hard for me to win here – and they start with Hewitt,” said Federer.
“For me, it’s 1-0, since we hadn’t played since 2005,” he said. “It was good to win last week (at the Montreal quarterfinals) and get an idea of how he plays.”
Hewitt knows what he’s facing in his attempt to reach his first final since winning Las Vegas in early March.
“Federer’s the best player going around at the moment, and he’s had the wood on me last nine, 10 times that we’ve played,” said Hewitt, who has won 29 matches and lost 12 this season.
Hewitt will be playing in his fourth semi-final this season. “I felt great physically,” said Hewitt. “I’m happy with how I’m hitting the ball.”
Federer, who was beaten in a second-round upset at the event last year by Andy Murray, is determined to take away the trophy before heading to New York for the last major of the season.