There were a few tense moments at the end, but Roger Federer moved safely into the semifinals of the MercedesCup in Stuttgart on Friday, serving up a 6-4, 6-4 quarterfinal victory over Guido Pella.
If Federer reaches the final of the 250-level grass-court event this week, he’ll return to No. 1.
Two days earlier, playing his first match in two and a half months, Federer lost the first set but found his groove just in time to make it past Mischa Zverev, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. And the momentum he built in the second half of that match seemed to carry into this one as he held his first nine service games without even facing break point, and broke Pella once per set for a chance to serve for the match at 6-4, 5-4.