Federer routs Soderling

Shangha i- Swiss maestro Roger Federer sliced through fifth seed Robin Soderling with a 6-1 6-1 victory to reach the Shanghai Masters semifinals on Friday.

Third seed Federer broke serve three times to wrap up the first set in 29 blistering minutes as the woeful Soderling played little more than a meek cameo role.

The second set was four minutes shorter as quick-firing Federer smashed four aces to call time in 54 blurred minutes.

Federer now faces a last four showdown with Serb Novak Djokovic who trounced unseeded Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-2 6-3.

"Today was a quick match but tomorrow's against Novak will not be based on fitness, it will be in the details," said Federer.

"It will be a bit more tactical, with more rallies, and more interesting," added the Swiss, who will be seeking revenge for the epic five-set defeat by the Serb in the U.S. Open semi-finals last month.

Djokovic, who won the China Open in Beijing on Monday, was hopeful of downing Federer again.

"I just need to focus on my game. If I play as well as I have done recently, I think I have a good chance," he said.

Britain's Andy Murray brushed aside burly Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2 6-2 as he confirmed his return to form after a recent illness.

Murray took command early in the first set and was hardly troubled in the second as he advanced to last four.

"He struggled a little bit on his serve and wasn't serving as big as usual, so I managed to get into a lot of the return games," said Murray.

"I served well and didn't give him any chances on my serve. I was hitting the ball really cleanly from the back of the court, so it was a good start," he added.

The error-prone Tsonga was no match for the 23-year-old world number four, whose stinging backhand returns forced the 12th seed into submission.

Murray will meet Juan Monaco in the last four after the Argentine battled to a 6-7 7-5 6-2 win over Austria's Juergen Melzer, the 13th seed who knocked out world number one Rafa Nadal on Thursaday.

"I know Andy's a very good player. He fights a lot and it will be tough for me. I think today was playing very well, but if I want to beat Andy, I have to play a little bit better tomorrow," said the unseeded Monaco, ranked 41 in the world.

Results:

Andy Murray (GBR x4) bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x12) 6-2, 6-2

Novak Djokovic (SRB x2) bt Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 6-2, 6-3

Juan Monaco (ARG) bt Jurgen Melzer (AUT x13) 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 6-2

Roger Federer (SUI x3) bt Robin Soderling (SWE x5) 6-1, 6-1