Federer advances to semis at Swiss Indoors

Federer served his first ace on second serve to earn three match points and won on his first when Kiefer mis-hit a shot into the roof of the hall.

The top ranked player on the ATP tour, who comes from Basel, is seeking his second straight title in his hometown. If he repeats as champion, Federer will also end the year as No. 1 for the fourth straight season.

In the semifinals, Federer will play Ivo Karlovic, who had 38 aces in coming from behind to edge fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2), 7-6 (13).

Karlovic, the tallest man on the tour at 2.08 meters (6-foot-10), has 1,272 aces for the year, still well behind the record of 1,477 set in 1996 by fellow Croatian Goran Ivanisevic.

Karlovic saved five match points in the final tiebreaker, before converting his fifth with a passing shot. He is having his best season on the tour, with three titles.

Federer, who won three of four Grand Slams this year, only losing at the French Open, beat Kiefer for the ninth straight time and is 10-3 against the German, who has made a strong comeback in the second half of the season after missing more than a year with a wrist injury.

“He was simply much better, especially on big points,” Kiefer said.

Federer said his steady, solid game from the baseline gave him the match.

“I could control the baseline rallies, I had the upper hand, although he pushed me,” Federer said.

Jarkko Nieminen upset second-seeded Fernando Gonzalez 6-3, 7-5 and damaged the Chilean’s hopes of qualifying for the season-ending Masters Cup.

In his third semifinal of the year, Nieminen will play 2005 runner-up Marcos Baghdatis, who beat eighth-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-2, 7-6 (5).

Nieminen scored his first win against Gonzalez in five attempts, but not before wasting two match points while leading 5-4. He also fought off three break points before gaining his third match point and converting it with a backhand down the line.

“I played very good tennis last year but I could not beat top 10 guys,” Nieminen said. “This has been a very up and down year but I got my confidence back this week and now I am beating them.

“Last year I lost many tight matches against the top guys, this year I am winning some,” he said.

Nieminen had to save match points in both of his first matches here and also beat sixth-seeded Guillermo Canas.

“He played a smart match, he forced me to generate all the power on every shot,” Gonzalez said. “The balls are very heavy, very hard.”

Gonzalez, who won the Basel tournament in 2005 and finished runner-up in 2002 and 2006, is one of 20 players competing for the last three spots at next month’s Masters Cup in Shanghai that brings together the top eight players in the world.

Gonzalez is currently seventh in the race, with the top five already qualified — Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Nikolay Davydenko and Andy Roddick.

“I still have a good chance to go, I am not secure yet but I am very close,” Gonzalez said. “It’s up to me. If I play well in Paris, I will go.”

The Paris Masters is the last tournament before the Masters Cup.

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