Updated on
Summary
World number one Roger Federer had to play three sets to reach the Qatar Open semi-finals, while number two Rafael Nadal had an easier ride when his opponent retired injured to put him in the last four. Swiss Federer survived a scare from 21-year-old Latvian Ernests Gulbis before winning 6-2 4-6 6-4 to progress to the next round where he will face Russian third seed Nikolay Davydenko who beat big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic 7-6 7-6. I'm happy to have come through a tough outing. It was pretty hard towards the end. It looked more like Gulbis gave up rather than me earning the victory, Federer told a news conference. It's pretty cold out there. That affected my game to some extent and, at times, I just couldn't get going. Nadal stayed on course for a showdown with the Swiss in the final when Belgium's Steve Darcis retired with an injured back when the Spaniard was leading 6-1 2-0 in their quarter-final. Nadal will next play Serbia's Viktor Troicki who overcame Poland's Lukasz Kubot 4-6 6-4 7-6.
