Stockholm: Roger Federer recovered from a set and 2-0 down to beat fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Friday and reach the Stockholm Open semifinals.
Wawrinka was in superb form in the first set, breaking in the first and fifth games to take it, as Federer made some uncharacteristic errors.
Trailing 2-0 in the second set, Federer dug deep and came up with some trademark winners to break Wawrinka twice and take the match to a third.
The 16-time Grand Slam winner then really hit his stride to win an enthralling final set.
"He was playing great," Federer said. "I was struggling a little bit with my rhythm, it made it hard for me to find any way back into the match, so I had to rely a little bit on mistakes from him and some better play from my side.
"Thank God I just turned a corner at the right time because the deeper it goes in the second set the more likely the score would have been brutal."
The win against his Olympic gold winning doubles partner marks the latest milestone in Federer's glittering career. It was his 50th victory of the season, making him only the fifth player since 1968 to register 50 or more wins in nine consecutive seasons. The last was Pete Sampras.
Federer meets fourth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia next. Finland's Jarkko Nieminen, and Germany's Florian Mayer — who upset second-seeded Robin Soderling — make up the final four.
Mayer surprised home favorite Soderling to win 7-6 (8), 6-1, in front of an expectant crowd at the Royal Tennis Hall.
The fifth-ranked Swede would have qualified for the ATP World Tour Finals had he won, but made countless unforced errors throughout the match.
No. 47 Mayer took the first set after a tense 10-8 tie-break and broke Soderling twice in the second set for the win.
"I think it's one of the best three victories in my career," Mayer said. "He's top 10 in the world, I beat him at home in Stockholm, indoors on his favorite surface, so I'm very happy."
Ljubicic came from a set down to beat stubborn countryman Ivan Dodig in three sets 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
"I maybe was a little too defensive in the beginning," Ljubicic said. "He was playing really good and then I started to be a little bit more aggressive, it worked out better."
Federer has beaten Ljubicic in 12 of 15 matches so far, including their last encounter at Indian Wells in 2008.
"He's one of my closest friends on tour," said Federer. "He's a got a real dangerous game, especially indoors."
Nieminen routed American wild card James Blake 6-0, 6-2, in just 49 minutes. It was the first time that Nieminen has beaten the two-time champion in seven contests.
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