BASEL, Switzerland, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- No. 4 Roger Federer of Switzerland rallied past No. 6 Andy Roddick of the United States, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), to advance to the semifinals Friday at the Swiss Indoors.
Federer, the 2000 runner-up, encounters Julien Boutter of France in the final four, while second-seeded Tim Henman of Britain meets seventh-seeded Carlos Moya of Spain in Saturday's other semifinal.
A Basel native, Federer edged Roddick in their first career meeting, but likely not their last.
The 20-year-old Federer won his first career title in February, outlasting Boutter at the Milan Indoors. But his most famous victory came five months later, when he announced his arrival on the world scene by upsetting seven-time Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras at the All-England Club.
Ranked 12th in the ATP Champions race, Federer will be playing in his first semifinal since June, when he reached the last four at 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
Roddick, 19, has won three tournaments in his first full year on the ATP Tour, helping to lift him from 160th in the Champions Race at the end of 2000 to 17th this week.
Federer was the only one of the three Swiss quarterfinalists to advance Friday.
Boutter fought through a pair of tiebreaks to beat George Bastl, 2-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (9-7), while Henman routed Michel Kratochvil, 6-0, 6-1.
Henman has dropped just nine games in his three matches, having dominated Anthony Dupuis of France on Wednesday and Andrea Gaudenzi of Italy on Thursday.
The British No. 1, a 1998 winner and 1999 runner-up here, has made it to the semifinals at Basel every year he has played. Having reached that stage once again, Henman looks set to qualify for the season-ending Masters Cup in Sydney, where only the top eight in the world are invited.
Henman has taken only one title this year, winning at Copenhagen in March.
Moya needed a pair of tiebreaks to defeat Russian Nikolay Davydenko, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3), and reach his first semifinal of a non-claycourt event this year.
