Federer downs Baghdatis

World number one Roger Federer advanced to the semi-finals of the Halle Open on Friday with a 6-4 6-4 victory over fifth seed Marco Baghdatis of Cyprus. Federer, four times winner of the grass tournament that serves as a tune-up for Wimbledon, extended...

World number one Roger Federer advanced to the semi-finals of the Halle Open on Friday with a 6-4 6-4 victory over fifth seed Marco Baghdatis of Cyprus.

Federer, four times winner of the grass tournament that serves as a tune-up for Wimbledon, extended his winning streak on grass to 57.

The five-times Wimbledon champion had skipped the German tournament 12 months ago but his smooth progress this week would have healed some wounds after he was crushed by Rafael Nadal in the French Open final on Sunday.

Federer will face Germany's Nicolas Kiefer in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Kiefer booked his place in the last four after France's Michael Llodra retired just 19 minutes into their quarter-final contest with a left arm injury. Kiefer was leading 4-0 when Llodra quit.

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