Roger Federer stormed his way into his 11th semi-final at the BNP Paribas Open with a dominant win over Hyeon Chung.
The pair faced a re-match of their Australian Open semi-final – in which Chung had retired hurt – but the South Korean failed to improve his record against the world number one.
Federer, 36, toppled his 21-year-old opponent 7-5 6-1 after an hour and 23 minutes on court.
Eyes on the prize ?
In front of a packed house, Federer topples Chung 7-5 6-1 and secures a spot in the semifinals here for an 11th time. His next foe: Coric. #BNPPO18 pic.twitter.com/oh6YnKuce6
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 16, 2018
The match was more competitive than their meeting in Melbourne, however, with Chung rallying to come back from 3-0 down in the opening set to tie the scores.
But a focused Federer held his nerve, eventually breaking for another time to take the set.
The Swiss once again raced to a 3-0 lead in the second, and this time his opponent had no answers.
“That was a tough match – Chung is a tough return player,” Federer says on court. “I saw him (Sampras)… it’s great that he came. It’s nice to see him in the building… He doesn’t come to tennis much. It was wonderful to see Rod too.” #BNPPO18
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 16, 2018
Federer’s win ensures he will remain in the world rankings top spot for another two weeks, extending his record reign to 308 weeks.
He will now face another 21-year-old in the final four at Indian Wells – Borna Coric.
#ATPMasters1000 milestone for @borna_coric! ?
All you need to know about the 21-year-old ?? & his comeback win ? https://t.co/XL0b3Stv2m https://t.co/zgO7MY0gHr
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) March 15, 2018
The Croatian came back from a break down in the third set to beat South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 2-6 6-4 7-6 (7/3).
Having double-faulted to lose his serve at a crucial point in the deciding set, Coric could easily have crumbled.
But he fought on and broke straight back – despite the fact Anderson had only been broken twice in the tournament until that point.
Facing match point in the third-set tiebreak, Anderson lifted a forehand long, leaving Coric to progress to his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final.
