Aggressive Federer cruises to semi-finals in Montreal

Roger Federer reached the Rogers Cup semi-finals on Friday after coming to the net early and often in a straight sets victory over Roberto Bautista Agut on a windy day in Montreal. World No 3 Federer, who faces Dutchman Robin Haase in the last four, was never seriously pushed by Spain's Bautista Agut, who is winless in seven matches against the Swiss maestro after the latest 6-4, 6-4 loss.

Will Roger #Federer reach his sixth Rogers Cup final on Saturday?

He plays Robin #Haase >>> https://t.co/75Cu4IsEpQ pic.twitter.com/5RDQKAq2dx— Live Tennis (@livetennis) August 12, 2017

Federer opened the second set with a break and cruised through the rest of the match, which lasted just over an hour. With world No 2 Rafael Nadal eliminated on Thursday by 18-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov and world No 1 Andy Murray sidelined by a rib injury, Federer has an opportunity to regain his world No 1 ranking.

Federer: "He's fearless" Gretzky: "He's got ice in his veins" Shapovalov is a lot of things, including Rogers Cup semifinalist at 18. — Caroline Cameron (@SNCaroline) August 12, 2017

He would need to win the Rogers Cup and have an equal or better finish than Nadal at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati next week to become the world No 1 on Aug. 21.

SEMI-SWEET: Canadian Denis Shapovalov's run continues in Montreal with three-set win over Adrian Mannarino in Rogers Cup quarters. pic.twitter.com/5FZQuOcqqU— SportsCentre (@SportsCentre) August 12, 2017

In the other quarter-finals, Shapovalov came from a set down to beat Adrian Mannarino of France 2-6 6-3 6-4, and Germany's Alexander Zverev dismissed South Africa's Kevin Anderson in straight sets, 7-5 6-4. Earlier, Haase recovered to defeat Argentine Diego Schwartzman 4-6 6-3 6-3 in their quarter-final.