Federer reaches Indian Wells semis

INDIAN WELLS, California (AP) – Roger Federer beat Kevin Anderson, 7-5, 6-1, Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open, where the Swiss star has yet to drop a set in four matches.

Anderson failed to break Federer’s serve in the match that lasted just over an hour. He had 21 unforced errors while Federer hit 17 winners and won 79 percent of his first serve points.

A four-time Indian Wells champion, Federer will play Alexandr Dolgopolov in the semifinals. Dolgopolov beat Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-4.

On the women’s side, top-seeded Li Na beat Dominika Cibulkova 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a rematch of their Australian Open final and advanced to a semifinal against Flavia Pennetta, who defeated Sloane Stephens 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Federer cooled off Anderson, who ended Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka’s 13-match winning streak in the fourth round. Federer earned the only break in the first set in the last game, when Anderson netted a backhand volley.

“It was big to win the set and then to go on to break early in the second,” Federer said. “Then double break was like a bonus. From then on I was home, basically. It was a really good match for me.”