Federer to take on Djokovic for number two slot
Swiss tennis star Roger Federer has beaten fellow countryman Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-3, 6-4, to advance to the semifinals of the Indian Wells open in California.
Federer’s victory sets up a showdown with Serbian Novak Djokovic for the world’s number two ranking.
Federer is currently second behind Rafael Nadal in the ATP rankings, and Djokovic is third. Djokovic beat Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-4 to put himself in position to surpass Federer in the rankings.
“I didn’t know it was the case coming into the tournament, and I feel like if you are playing a fellow top-five guy, it doesn’t matter what’s on the line,” Federer said.
“You just want to beat him, and it doesn’t matter if it’s the finals, semis, rankings involved.”
Djokovic won titles at the Australia Open and Dubai, where he beat Federer in the final. His last loss came against Federer in the semifinals of the ATP World Tour finals in London in November.
“I have a great record against fellow top ten players, and that’s what kind of gets you going,” Federer said.
Federer met little resistance against Wawrinka in their all-Swiss quarterfinal. He improved to 8-1 in his career against Wawrinka, with whom he teamed to beat Nadal and Marc Lopez 7-5, 6-3 in a doubles semifinal.
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