Federer enters semis

SHANGHAI: Roger Federer reached the Masters Cup semi-finals and helped defending champion David Nalbandian along with him. Nalbandian ousted Andy Roddick 6-2, 7-6 (4) on Thursday for his first win of the round-robin stage. That assured Federer a place in the semis. Nalbandian then relied on top-ranked Federer beating Ivan Ljubicic to advance. And Federer delivered 7-6 (2), 6-4 — extending his winning streak to 27 and making him 15-0 in Masters Cup round-robin matches. — AP

Hair wins award

LONDON: Controversial Australian official Darrell Hair has been voted the Umpire of the Season by readers of Wisden Cricketer magazine. Hair won 34 per cent of votes cast by readers of the English magazine despite playing a key role in the recent forfeited Test between England and Pakistan. Even Hair, who was also rated as the second best umpire in the world in a recent ICC report, admitted he was surprised by the award. Australian Simon Taufel came second while New Zealander Billy Bowden was third in the voting. — AFP