Roger Federer defeats Marin Cilic to enter last four – Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012
Top seed, Roger Federer of Switzerland, moved a step closer to his record 22nd ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title by defeating the 10th seed from Croatia, Marin Cilic, in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 in the quarter-finals
of the Shanghai Rolex Masters.
The Swiss Maestro, who needed an hour and 21 minutes to claim victory, is currently tied with Rafael Nadal on 21 Masters Series crowns. With this 871st tour level match victory, Federer also moved to the fourth position
in the list of players with most overall match wins in the open era.
Talking about the latest match, Federer played attackingly throughout. The Swiss Maestro struck in the opening game and held his next serve to attain a 2-0 lead. Cilic fought back to claim a couple of games in a row, levelling
the proceedings at 2-2. The Croatian’s effort became fruitless, as Federer grabbed four of the five games after that to clinch the first set 6-3.
The Swiss legend banged in three aces 75 percent of the first serves, converting 12 of the 18 of them into points. The 17-time Grand Slam winner capitalised on three of the five break opportunities he got in the opener.
In the second set, Federer hit a blow to the Croatian player in the fourth game and consolidated on it to gain a 4-1 lead. Cilic broke back in the ninth to bring the proceedings on serve but lost his own in the 10th
to go down 4-6.
The 31-year-old looked a bit sloppy in the second set, as he maintained a first serve percentage of just 63 and lost nine of the 24 points on them. However, he was the better player on the big moments, converting both break points
he received.
Federer will take on the US Open champion, Andy Murray, for a place in the title match.
The Swiss Maestro said of the Brit, “I assume he’s very confident right now and probably playing with a little bit less pressure. Then again, that can go either way. It’s been a long year for all of us.”
He added, "I'm looking forward to the match. It's always great playing the best players. Those are the kind of matches you want to try to win because that can obviously then move the rankings by a little bit, even though it doesn't
matter so much if you stay within the Top 4. It's going to be a tough match, [a] good one. From my side, I haven't decided yet how I'm going to play."
It will be a rematch of the 2010 final, when Murray came out top of the Swiss star.
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