BASEL, Switzerland, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Top seed Roger Federer, a native of Switzerland, Friday advanced to the semifinals at the men's Swiss Indoors tennis tournament in Basel.
In the quarterfinals, the No. 1 player in the world -- competing before a large throng of fans -- beat fifth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain, 6-3, 7-6 (16-14).
The victory gave Federer a 22-match winning streak.
He was the runner-up in this event in 2000 and 2001 and is seeking his first title at his hometown event.
He won Friday's match when Ferrer failed to convert on six set points in the marathon tiebreak.
Federer earned his fifth successive career win against Ferrer on his fourth match point, and improved his 2006 record to 85-5.
Swiss native Stanislas Wawrinka was a 7-6 (9-7), 6-2 winner over No. 2 David Nalbandian of Argentina. Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand and Fernando Gonzalez of Chile also won their quarterfinal matches.
