Federer advances; Roddick out in Miami

MIAMI, March 31 (UPI) -- David Ferrer of Spain beat American Andy Roddick, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, in Thursday's quarterfinals at the NASDAQ-100 Open Tennis Tournament in Miami.

Roddick, the event's fourth seed, committed 49 unforced errors and had his service game broken four times by the 11th-seeded Ferrer.

Meanwhile, the top seed and world No. 1 Roger Federer later beat ninth-seeded James Blake, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4. Federer, who had beaten Blake in the finals at Indian Wells, Calif., earlier this month, rose to 4-0 lifetime against Blake, and has won 46 straight matches in the United States. He will play Ferrer in one of Friday's semifinals.

In the other semi, David Nalbandian, who is seeded third, faces No. 6 seed Ivan Ljubicic.