Mason, August 18:

The top-ranked Roger Federer overcame a momentum-changing second set, recovering to beat Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Masters. Federer will face Lleyton Hewitt, looking to extend his 10-match winning streak against the Australian. Hewitt coasted to a 6-2, 6-4 win over Carlos Moya.

Ninth-seeded James Blake also advanced the semi-finals beating Sam Querrey 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in a matchup of Americans. He’ll face fifth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko, who beat David Ferrer 6-2, 6-4 in the last match of the day.

Rogers Cup

TORONTO: Justine Henin advanced to the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over Nadia Petrova on Friday.

Henin will play Yan Zi of China. The other semi-final is between Tatiana Golovin and second-seeded Jelena Jankovic after Golovin upset No 3 Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-6, 7-5, 6-1. Jankovic defeated Virginie Razzano of France 7-5, 6-2. Jankovic struggled with her serve.

Yan became the first qualifier to reach the semi-finals at the tournament in 11 years. She was leading 6-2, 3-0 when No 7 Marion Bartoli of France retired with an illness. “I’ve got a virus like a few players had during this tournament,” Bartoli said.

Yan, ranked No 169, upset defending champion Ana Ivanovic in the second round after winning the opener against Severine Bremond of France 6-4, 6-0. The top-ranked Henin doesn’t know much about Yan’s game. But Henin knows she should be wary.