Djokovic, Federer saunter into semis

Simon ousts Berdych to enter last four phase

Two time champion Novak Djokovic thumped Spain's David Ferrer 6-4, 6-2 to march into the last-four of the Shanghai Masters on Friday and set up a semifinal showdown with third seed Roger Federer.

The Serbian world number one, who won the China Open title for a fifth time last week, hit 26 winners against the Spaniard's 11 to stretch his winning streak in China to 29 matches. Djokovic took control early by breaking Ferrer's serve in the second game and then saved two break points at 5-4 to serve out the first set.

World number five Ferrer did not have another opportunity to break the top seed's serve and was broken twice in the second set as he lost his seventh consecutive meeting against Djokovic.

"Roger is one of the best players ever in the game," Djokovic told reporters. "There is no clear favourite. I think every time we play against each other, it's a thriller. "It's really a big challenge for both of us. We need to bring our 'A' game in order to win."

Frenchman Julien Benneteau matched Federer shot for shot in the first set but the 17-times Grand Slam champion found a new level in the second to win 7-6(4), 6-0.
Federer converted three out of four break point opportunities in the second set to canter to victory.

The Swiss, who served 11 aces, won 91 percent of his first serve points and smashed 34 winners, double the number the Frenchman could manage.
Unseeded Frenchman Gilles Simon also moved into the semifinals after ousting sixth seed Tomas Berdych in three sets, leaving the Czech sweating about a place at the ATP World Tour finals.

Simon, ranked 29th in the world, earned a 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-0 win after a two-and-a-half hour slugfest to set up a last four meeting with Spain's Feliciano Lopez.
The tall left-handed Spaniard, who knocked out compatriot Rafael Nadal in the second round, fought back from a set and a break of serve down to beat Russian Mikhail Youzhny 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Simon's win was his second big upset of the tournament following his second round victory over Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka.

"I feel my tennis is coming back from the last, I would say, two months," Simon said after his victory. "I'm finding a better rhythm. I feel also physically stronger. I have less injuries. So, I mean, it's a bit easier to go on the court.”

"But still Tomas is a great player. He's always hard to beat. I think I almost played the perfect match today.

Berdych is currently seventh in the ATP Race To London standings, with five singles spots left up for grabs at next month's season-ending event.

The Czech will compete in next week's Stockholm Open to try to book a spot in the eight-man field for London.

Results (quarterfinals, prefix denotes seedings): Gilles Simon (Fra) bt Tomas Berdych (Cze) 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-0; Feliciano Lopez (Esp) bt Mikhail Youzhny (Rus) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4; 1-Novak Djokovic (Srb) bt 5-David Ferrer (Esp) 6-4, 6-2. 3-Roger Federer (S) bt Julien Benneteau (Fra) 7-6(4), 6-0. 

Stosur in semis
In Tokyo, defending champion Samantha Stosur rolled into the semifinals of the Japan Women's Open on Friday with a clinical 6-4, 6-1 victory over Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan. The top-seeded Australian, who won the US Open title in 2011 and reached and career-high fourth in the world, will face Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in the last four after the number three seed blew away American Lauren Davis 6-2, 6-4.

Zarina Diyas restored some Kazakh pride by battling to a 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 win over Croatia's Ana Konjuh. She will play Asian Games gold medallist Luksika Kumkhum in Saturday's semifinals after the Thai knocked out American Madison Keys, who retired hurt while trailing 6-2, 4-3.