World number three Federer, who faces Dutchman Robin Haase in the last four, was never seriously pushed by Spains Bautista Agut, who is winless in seven matches against the Swiss maestro. "I think it pays off playing aggressive here in Montreal," Federer said in a courtside interview after his 6-4 6-4 win over the 12th seed. Federer opened the second set with a break and cruised through the rest of the match, which lasted just over an hour. With world number two Rafael Nadal eliminated on Thursday by 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov and world number one Andy Murray sidelined by a rib injury, Federer has an opportunity to regain his world number one ranking. Earlier, Haase recovered to defeat Argentine Diego Schwartzman 4-6 6-3 6-3 in their quarter-final.

Source: India Today August 12, 2017 03:00 UTC