By Chris Oddo | Thursday, February 27, 2014

 

Roger Federer shellacked Lukas Rosol, 6-2, 6-2, to set up a blockbuster semifinal with Novak Djokovic in Dubai on Thursday.

Photo Source: AP

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will renew their storied rivalry at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, as both passed through to the semifinals of the ATP-500 event with little resistance.

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Djokovic, who moved through when Mikhail Youzhny withdrew from the quarterfinals due to illness, owns a career record of 15-16 against Federer after winning their last three battles.

A late schedule change put Tomas Berdych and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Centre Court to begin the evening session, and it was the Czech who moved through in straight sets with his fifth win in seven career battles with the Frenchman.

Despite winning only five points against Tsonga's second serve, Berdych was able to break twice in seven opportunities while saving all five that he faced.

Berdych will face Philipp Kohlshcreiber in the semifinals. The German raced past surprise quarterfinalist Malik Jaziri of Tunisia, 6-2, 6-3. It was Kohlschreiber's 300th tour-level match win, against 238 losses.

After an early hiccup in which Federer fell behind Lukas Rosol 2-0 in the opening set, it was all one-way traffic for the five-time Dubai Champion.

After falling behind the fourth seed would lose only six points in the rest of the first set and he broke Rosol twice more in the second to cruise to the finish line in a tidy 58 minutes, 6-2, 6-2.

Federer and Djokovic have won nine of the last 11 titles in Dubai.

Djokovic is bidding to win his 550th tour-level victory against Federer on Friday. He's currently sixth on the ATP's active all-time win list. Federer leads that list with 935 wins.