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Federer into Qatar semis despite Seppi stutter

Roger Federer is looking for a fourth Doha title © PA Photos

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Three-time defending Qatar Open champion Roger Federer extended his winning streak to 20 matches on the ATP Tour by defeating Andreas Seppi in the quarter-finals on Thursday.

Aside from the year-end exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, Federer won his last 17 matches in 2011 and has tasted success in all three so far in 2012. Eighth seed Seppi threatened to derail that record when taking the second set in Doha, but eventually fell to a 6-3 5-7 6-4 defeat as Federer reached the last four for a sixth consecutive time.

There was little from which to take confidence for Seppi prior to the opening serve, the Italian having lost all seven previous encounters against the world No. 3. Indeed Federer had never dropped a set against his rival, going 15-0.

The Swiss had made quick work of his opening two opponents, taking less than two hours in total to dismiss Nikolay Davydenko and Grega Zemlja, so it came as something of a surprise when he was broken early by Seppi. The danger was quickly averted though as Federer replied with two breaks of his own to take the set thanks to some sublime angles from the baseline.

Federer had won his last 64 matches against players ranked outside the top 20, so the Doha crowd had every right to sit back and expect a walkover. However, having won only 16 of 46 points in the first set, Seppi turned things around in the second, taking 16 of the opening 24 on offer to storm to a 3-1 lead.

Federer was made to work hard just to hold serve in each game, committing a series of unforced errors as Seppi kept the ball flat to break again for 5-1. He then appeared to lose his nerve, conceding back-to-back breaks to allow Federer back to 5-5, but the Italian found his range in the nick of time, playing with excellent depth and consistent changes of pace to take the second set 7-5.

For the first time in his career Seppi had claimed a set against the great Federer, yet his joy was short-lived when he sent a forehand long in game three of the decider to hand the Swiss the advantage. Seppi did have two chances to break back in the eighth, but he sunk the ball into the net and then hit a return wide, which proved the end of his challenge.

Federer will now meet Jo-Wilfried Tsonga after the third seed needed a little over an hour to dispatch Albert Ramos 6-2 6-1. The Frenchman, who needed three sets to navigate his way through his opening two matches, wasted little time in earning an early break before streaking away to victory.

In a rematch of last year's semi-final, Tsonga and Federer will go head-to-head for the eighth time since their meeting in Doha 12 months ago, with Federer having won five of the seven encounters.

At the Brisbane International, Alexandr Dolgopolov came from a set down to beat Radek Stepanek 4-6 6-3 6-3. Dolgopolov will face second seed Giles Simon in the semi-finals after the Frenchman saw off the challenge of Santiago Giraldo 7-6(2) 6-4.

And at the Chennai Open, top seed Janko Tipsarevic was the most notable of Thursday's second-round winners, with David Goffin and Yuichi Sugita also through.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.