Federer steps up the pace to crush Ferrero

LONDON: Roger Federer woke up after a sleepy spell to overcome Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 on Friday and reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon where he is aiming for a fifth successive title.

Federer stormed to a 5-2 lead in the first set but the Spaniard clawed back to 5-5 before play was abandoned on Thursday because of rain.

The world No 1, whose last match was a week ago, squandered a set point in the 12th but made no such mistake in the tiebreak which he took 7-2 with an ace on the final point.