World No. 1 men's tennis player Roger Federer and defending champion Fernando Gonzalez of Chile have advanced to the semifinals of the Swiss Indoors men's tennis tournament in Basel.
Federer scored a 6-3, 7-6 win over David Ferrer of Spain. The top-ranked Swiss star was broken three times in the match, but was able to win his 22nd straight match.
Federer next plays Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan, a 7-6, 6-3 winner over Jose Acasuso of Argentina.
Gonzalez rallied to beat Juan Martin Del Potro, 18, of Argentina in three sets, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. The Chilean plays Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka, who served 13 aces on his way to a straight-set win over second-seeded David Nalbandian of Argentina, 7-6, 6-2.
Gonzalez is attempting to make the field for the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai, China. The Chilean is currently ninth in the standings and only four slots remain available in the eight-man event. Should Gonzalez win this week, he would pass Tommy Robredo of Spain and earn a spot in the lucrative tournament.
In other tennis news: Defending champion Nadia Petrova of Russia and U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova have advanced to the semifinals of the Generali Ladies indoor tennis tournament in Linz, Austria.
Petrova, the second seed, scored a 6-1, 6-3 win over Australian Samantha Stosur. The Russian, ranked fifth in the world, next plays fourth seed Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, who rallied from a first set loss to defeat Serbian Jelena Jankovic in three close sets, 5-7, 7-6, 6-4.
Meanwhile, top seed Sharapova of Russia beat Ana Ivanovic of Serbia (7-6, 7-5). Sharapova plays Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, a 7-6, 6-4 winner over Vera Zvonareva of Russia.
The tournament is being played on hard courts at the Intersport Arena and offers a top prize of $95,500.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.