Roger Federer battles past Julien Benneteau in Shanghai

Roger Federer has advanced to the Shanghai Masters semi-finals with a straight-sets win over Julien Benneteau.

The Frenchman competed well during the opener, but Federer went through the gears in the second to register a 7-6 6-0 triumph.

Benneteau has enjoyed success against Federer in the past, winning two of their seven meetings, and, during a tight first set, he suggested that he could record a third success over the world number three as he served well to take him to a tiebreak.

However, after edging ahead, the Frenchman let slip his lead as Federer won it 7-4, and from then onwards, it was one-way traffic in the Swiss's favour.

Federer broke three times during a second-set whitewash to set up a semi-final contest with Novak Djokovic.