Djokovic, Federer, Wawrinka and defending champion Cilic vie for a spot in US Open final

Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka shrugged off the threat of rain to storm into the US Open semifinals. Moved from the Arthur Ashe Stadium court to Louis Armstrong to bring Federer’s match forward, Wawrinka appeared untroubled by the change of venue, needing just an hour and 47 minutes to repel bighitting South African Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4, 6-0.

Second seed Federer turned in an equally economical effort, brushing aside Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-3 6-3 6-1 in a tidy 87 minutes to set up an all-Swiss semi-final on Friday.

The other side of the draw features a battle of the big men, with top seed Novak Djokovic taking on defending champion Marin Cilic.

Top seed Djokovic was tested by netcharging Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in his quarter-final match in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Djokovic, the 2011 champion, whoa is 61-5 with six tournament titles this season expects another challenging match against Cilic, despite owning a 13-0 record against him.

“He hasn’t lost a match (here), 12 matches in a row, so I’m sure he feels confident,” Djokovic said. “I know him very well. I have played him many, many times. We are great friends.

The defending champion Cilic meanwhile, advanced with a five-set win over France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. World No.2 Federer, meanwhile, said that he would be aware of the familiarity factor when it comes to facing the fellow Swiss.

“Emotionally it’s not so hard for me,” said Federer, who holds a commanding 16-3 advantage over his Davis Cup team mate and reigning French Open champion. “But subconsciously, you know he knows what your preferences are, where you like to go and where you’re probably going to go,” he added “That’s the weird part. I feel we meet each other somewhere in our minds before the point is being played out.” Federer and Gasquet are both armed with elegant one-handed backhands but apart from that aesthetically pleasing stroke, there were very few similarities in their lopsided contest.

The 17-time grand slam winner could hardly miss and Gasquet all too often played the role of innocent bystander as the Swiss maestro uncorked 50 winners to a mere eight from the 12th seeded Frenchman.