Federer into Rome semi

World number two Roger Federer defeated Mischa Zverev 7-6 (7/3) 6-2 on Friday to set up a semi-final against defending champion Novak Djokovic at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

Third seed Djokovic produced sparkling tennis to beat Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina 6-3 6-4 but the Serbian will now face a major test in his bid to reach the final.

Djokovic has never beaten Federer on clay and the Swiss has had the upper hand in their last four meetings.

Federer needed one hour and 28 minutes to see off Germany's Zverev.

Neither player's serve was broken in the opening set but the former Wimbledon champion clinched the tie-break 7-3 and then secured the next four games en route to victory.