MARSEILLE, France, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Top seed Roger Federer of Switzerland continued his roll Friday and advanced to the semifinals of the Marseille Open.
Ranked 15th in the world, Federer moved into his first semifinal in four events this season by outlasting unseeded Frenchman Raemon Sluitier, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. Federer, who dropped his first set in three matches Friday, will meet unseeded Karol Kucera of Slovakia in one semifinal.
Kucera advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over unseeded Olivier Rochus of Belgium. Kucera improved to 8-2 this year while clinching a spot in his second semfinal. He also reached the semifinals at Chennai.
In the other semifinal, unseeded Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden will meet Frenchman Nicolas Escude.
On Friday, Bjorkman outlasted Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4. Escude moved on with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over unseeded Rodolphe Cadart.
