Federer wears down Wawrinka to maintain mastery over compatriot

Cincinatti: Roger Federer continued his mastery over Stan Wawrinka, but not before getting a fright en route to a 6-7(2) 7-6(6) 6-2 quarterfinal victory at the Cincinnati Masters on Friday. Federer upped his career record against his Swiss compatriot to 21-3. A match that started with a low key atmosphere developed into a cracking affair when Federer took the second set tiebreak as lightning reverberated near the stadium. Play was finally halted two points into the third set. Federer was in a different class once the match resumed after a short delay. While Federer narrowly avoided an early exit, another high seed was sent packing, as number four Juan Martin del Potro fell to diminutive Belgian David Goffin 7-6(5) 7-6(4). Goffin closed out a tight match with a backhand winner down the baseline. His reward is a Saturday evening semifinal against Federer, while the other last four clash will match Novak Djokovic of Serbia against Croatia’s Marin Cilic. It was a busy day for 10th seeded Djokovic, who came from behind to oust defending champion Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 2-6 6-3 6-4 in the conclusion of a third round match carried over from Thursday. Only a couple of hours later, Djokovic stopped Milos Raonic 7-5 4-6 6-3, improving his career record to a perfect 9-0 against the Canadian. “I’m very pleased with my fighting spirit and staying mentally tough to overcome deficits in both matches,” Djokovic said. — Reuters