Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka will meet in an all-Swiss semi-final at the US Open after impressive wins over Richard Gasquet and Kevin Anderson.
Seventeen-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer did not face a single break point as he beat Frenchman Gasquet 6-3 6-3 6-1 in just 87 minutes.
Wawrinka made almost as short work of Andy Murray’s conqueror Kevin Anderson, beating the South African 6-4 6-4 6-0.
Top seed Novak Djokovic will face holder Marin Cilic in the other semi.
Federer has won 16 of his 19 meetings with compatriot Wawrinka, but lost the most recent in this year’s French Open quarter-finals and found his wife’s courtside conduct called into question after a bad-tempered encounter at last year’s World Tour Finals in London.
However he said he was relishing the chance to meet his friend and Davis Cup team-mate in the last four, reports the BBC.
“Stan played a wonderful match against me in Paris,” he said.
“He can consistently bring the power on forehand, backhand, and serve out almost anybody when he gets hot.
“It is cool for us to have two Swiss in the semi-finals.”
Anderson’s win over Murray in the previous round was built on relentless aggression off the ground as well as his powerful serve, but he could replicate those tactics against Wawrinka.
Anderson hit less than half the number of aces and less than a third of the number of winners that he managed against Murray.
By contrast, Wawrinka put together his most impressive performance of the tournament after making relatively heavy weather of beating the likes of Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Hyeon Chung in the opening rounds.
And in women’s action, world number two Simona Halep and Italian 26th seed Flavia Pennetta will meet in the US Open semi-finals after prevailing in absorbing three-setters.
Romania’s Halep, 23, beat Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 6-3 4-6 6-4 in a rain-interrupted match in New York.
Pennetta, 33, capitalised on two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova’s inconsistency to win 4-6 6-4 6-2 and reach her second US Open semi-final.
Roberta Vinci and Serena Williams will contest Thursday’s other semi-final.
With both Pennetta and her compatriot Vinci in the last eight, two Italian women have made the last four of the same Grand Slam tournament for the first time in the Open era.
