Federer advances to Basel semis

The Basel native and the No. 1 men's player in the world, needed only 55 minutes to dispatch the Russian, hitting seven service aces and breaking Korolev's serve three times.

The three-time defending champion faces compatriot Marco Chiudinelli in Saturday's semifinals.

Chiudinelli trounced Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-1, 6-3.

Also Friday, second-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia beat sixth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2. He will play in the other semifinal Saturday against fifth-seeded Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, who was a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 winner over fourth-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Sunday's champion will pocket $430,000.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.