Federer gets revenge on Gulbis on clay

Associated Press

MADRID

Defending champion Roger Federer rallied from a set and a break down to beat Ernests Gulbis 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 Friday and secure a place in the Madrid Masters semifinals.

Federer lost to Gulbis last month at the Rome Masters in his first clay-court match of the season, and the Latvian looked set to repeat the upset until the top-ranked Swiss found his stride in the second set.

“I think it’s one of the toughest things in tennis if you lose against a player and you have to play against him in the next couple of weeks,” Federer said. “I was very happy with the way I was able to return and mix up the game a bit, and at the end I thought it was a really great performance.”

Federer will play ninth-seeded David Ferrer, who beat 2008 champion Andy Murray 7-5, 6-3.

Earlier Friday, Rafael Nadal was close to his clay-court best in beating Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-3.

Nadal will play Nicolas Almagro, who beat Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-1 in the only quarterfinal not to feature a seeded player.

On the women’s side, fourth-seeded Venus Williams reached the semifinals, beating Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-3.

Williams will play Shahar Peer, who beat Li Na 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Earlier, Lucie Safarova advanced to the semifinals with a 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory over 16th-seeded Nadia Petrova. She will next face Aravane Rezai, who beat seventh-seeded Jelena Jankovic 7-5, 6-4.