Roger Federer dismissed unseeded Italian Simone Bolelli 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors on Friday to maintain his bid for a third straight triumph in his hometown tournament. Federer's route to the final was also made easier - on paper at least - when his expected semifinal opponent, American fourth seed James Blake, suffered a 6-4, 7-6 defeat by Spain's Feliciano Lopez. Lopez, the world number 39, has lost all six of his previous meetings with Federer who has yet to face a seeded player at this week's tournament. After stuttering performances in his first two matches this week, the world number two was in full control against Bolelli. Second seed David Nalbandian booked his place in the semis with a 7-6, 6-4 win over German qualifier Benjamin Becker while third seed Juan Martin Del Potro saw off Russian sixth seed Igor Andreev 6-4, 7-5. Soderling beats Roddick In France, Robin Soderling upset top-seeded Andy Roddick 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) in an acefest between former champions in the Lyon Grand Prix quarterfinals on Friday. Soderling, who won the title the year before Roddick in 2004, had 20 aces to Roddick's 22 in a match without breaks. Soderling set up a semifinal with fourth-seeded Gilles Simon of France, who beat countryman and wild card Josselin Ouanna 6-3, 7-5. Two other French players advanced. Third-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 7-6 (5), 6-1, while Julien Benneteau overcame Steve Darcis of Belgium 6-3, 6-2. Murray on course In Russia, defending champion Andy Murray advanced to his fifth straight ATP semifinal match by beating Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (5), 7-5 Friday in the quarterfinals of the St. Petersburg Open. The players traded breaks early in the first set, and after exchanging breaks early in the second, Murray took a 6-5 lead on the Serb's serve and then held to win. In the semifinals, Murray will face third-seeded Fernado Verdasco, who beat German veteran Rainer Schuettler 7-5, 6-2. Murray beat Verdasco in last year's final. Also, Victor Hanescu of Romania defeated Russian qualifier Michail Elgin 6-1, 6-4. In his third semifinal this season, Hanescu will take on Andrey Golubev, a qualifier from Kazakhstan, who rallied to beat German qualifier Mischa Zverev 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-6 (4). Dementieva beats Mauresmo In Luxembourg, top-seeded Elena Dementieva beat former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo 6-4, 6-0 in the Fortis Championships quarterfinals on Friday. Next up for the Olympic champion will be eighth-seeded Sorana Cirstea of Romania, who upset third-seeded Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 7-6 (2), 6-2. The other semifinal on Saturday features a first-time meeting between fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark against sixth-seeded Li Na of China. Wozniacki beat seventh-seeded Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain 6-1, 7-6 (7), and Li outlasted Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Ivanovic in semis In Austria, Ana Ivanovic led the top three seeds into the Generali Ladies semifinals on Friday with straight-sets victories. Former world number one Ivanovic beat seventh-seeded Flavia Pennetta of Italy 6-4, 6-4, second-seeded Vera Zvonareva defeated eighth-seeded Alize Cornet of France 7-5, 6-1, and third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska stopped fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova of Russia 6-3, 6-2. They were joined by sixth-seeded Marion Bartoli, who beat the only unseeded player to make the last eight, Alona Bondarenko of Ukraine, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1. Ivanovic will play Radwanska on Saturday.
