World number one Roger Federer gave Andy Murray a harsh lesson in hard court tennis with a straight sets victory in the Cincinnati Masters semi final.

The Swiss maestro was a different class in the first set and with the Scot throwing in an uncharasteristic number of unforced errors, Federer broke twice to win 6-2.

The second set was a tenser affair with neither player losing serve, but Federer fought off a set point in the tie-break to take it 10-8 – Murray losing the match, rather aptly with a double fault.

“I was very happy with I how I played, it went a lot like my recent matches with Andy,” said Federer.

“I was on form in the first set and I was at the top of my game and he cam back at me in the second but I managed to keep my edge.

“And I think I deserved it. I did enough to get the victory and I’m very happy with my performance.”

Federer goes on to face the winner of world number three Rafael Nadal or world number four and last year’s runner-up in Cincinnati, Novak Djokovic.