Roger Federer defeated defending champion Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4 to advance to his 13th semifinal at the Gerry Weber Open Friday. Federer, an eight-time champion in Halle, hit 11 aces, saved both break points he faced, and converted two of his own to maintain his bid for his 16th grass-court title. He next faces Karen Khachanov, who defeated Russian compatriot Andrey Rublev 7-6 (8), 4-6, 6-3. Richard Gasquet beat Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 in the other quarterfinal. The French player next plays Roberto Bautista Agut or the fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev. Muller scythes past Querrey Luxembourg left-hander Gilles Muller continued scything his way through the grasscourt season when he beat former champion Sam Querrey at the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club Friday. The late-blooming 34-year-old chalked up a seventh successive victory on the green stuff as he beat the powerful American 6-4 7-6(5) to reach the semifinals. Next in Muller's firing line will be fourth seed Marin Cilic, one of three former champions to reach the last eight, who was equally impressive in dispatching American Donald Young 6-4 7-5 on another sunny day at the prestigious London club. Grigor Dimitrov, who won the title in 2014, plays young Russian Daniil Medvedev later before Spain's 35-year-old Feliciano Lopez takes on seventh seed Tomas Berdych. Muller had never won an ATP title before this year. "I'm going to play semifinals here for the first time tomorrow. I lost in the quarterfinals for the two years, so I'm really happy that I was able to go one step further," he said. Muller confirmed he had pulled out of next week's Eastbourne tournament to rest up ahead of Wimbledon. Kvitova reaches last four Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, competing in only her second tournament since her playing hand was injured in a knife attack at her home, advanced to the semifinals at the Aegon Classic Friday. The left-handed Czech player beat Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 7-6 (5) on grass at the Wimbledon warm-up tournament. Kvitova, who struck the ball solidly from both sides, moved well and made some forays to the net. But she double-faulted twice when she was trying to close out the match, allowing Mladenovic to eventually even the second set at 5-5. "I struggled from after that time," Kvitova said. Kvitova will next face Lucie Safarova, someone she has known since childhood in the Czech Republic. Safarova had to save match points for the second time this week, trailing 5-3 in the final set before beating Daria Gavrilova 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (5). Trailing again 5-3 in the final tiebreaker, Safarova hit a shot to the baseline that was called in. Gavrilova challenged the call, but the screen failed to produce a replay. The chair umpire then told Gavrilova that the replay showed the ball was in, robbing her of three match points. "I just believed," Safarova said of the incident. Evans tests positive for cocaine British player Dan Evans failed a drugs test in April after taking cocaine, the world No. 50 said Friday. Evans, who reached his first ATP final this year in Sydney and has played for Britain in the Davis Cup, released a statement at a news conference in London. "This is a very difficult day for me and I wanted to come here in person and tell you guys face to face that a few days ago I was notified that in April I tested positive for cocaine," the 27-year-old said. "It's really important to know that this was taken out of competition and in a context completely unrelated to tennis. "I made a mistake and I must face up to it. I do not condone for one second that this was acceptable behavior," Evans added. "I've let a lot of people down, my family, my coach, my team, sponsors, British tennis and my fans and I can only apologize from the bottom of my heart." Evans will be provisionally suspended from June 26 and will not be able to play at next month's Wimbledon championships. — Agencies
