The World No. 2 battled hard to beat Daniel Gimeno-Traver 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3 in two hours and 28 minutes for a place in the semi-finals at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open.
Federer recovered from a 2-5 deficit in the second set, but the recent Grand Prix Hassan II finalist (l. to Klizan) regained his composure to win seven of nine points from 0/2 in the tie-break. With Gimeno-Traver serving at 3-4, 40/15 in the third set, Federer raised his game to set up his 19th match win of the season.
He'll now face eighth seed Diego Schwartzman, who reached his first ATP World Tour semi-final. Schwartzman recovered from a disastrous start to beat fourth seed Santiago Giraldo 0-6, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 51 minutes. He won just seven points in the first set.
"I have advanced to the first semi-final of my career," said Schwartzman. "I lost the first eight games. He started playing really well and maybe I was a little bit nervous. Sometimes it happens. The crowd was amazing for me. I hope tomorrow will be the same."
Federer has already picked up two trophies in 2015 at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp (d. Raonic) and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (d. Djokovic). He was also runner-up at the BNP Paribas Open (l. to Djokovic). He is 19-3 on the year.
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