Federer, Roddick advance to semis

WIMBLEDON, England — Roger Federer neutralized Ivo Karlovic's huge serves Wednesday to reach the Wimbledon semifinals and move a step closer to a record 15th Grand Slam championship. Two-time finalist Andy Roddick, Andy Murray and Tommy Haas completed the final four.

In a match featuring short points and few rallies, Federer conjured up a few great returns to break the 6-foot-10 Croatian twice and secure a 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (3) victory.

Federer's next opponent will be Germany's Tommy Haas, who upset fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic 7-5, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3 to advance to his first Wimbledon semifinal. The 31-year-old Haas was the oldest player in the quarters, while the 22-year-old Djokovic was the youngest.

Third-seeded Andy Murray swept Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal and keep up his bid to become the first British player to win the men's title since 1936.

Murray will face the sixth-seeded Roddick, who served 43 aces and outlasted 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-7 (10), 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-4.

Wimbledon glance

Men's Semifinals Friday: Federer vs. Haas, Murray vs. Roddick.

Stat of the Day: 2 — Number of times Federer broke the 6-foot-10 Karlovic's serve. Karlovic had not been broken once in 79 service games.

Quote of the Day: "There's a lot of respect there. We used to get into it a little bit when we were younger, but I think we definitely earned each other's respect. Now we're just a couple of old married dudes." — Roddick, after beating Hewitt.