Roger Federer moved within a victory of his 50th career title by beating Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (1) in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters yesterday in Mason, Ohio.

"It was quite a fight. It was a good match, I thought," Federer said of his 20th match with Hewitt. "I think it was the best match I've played this week."

It was the second straight match in which the top-ranked player in the world was pressed to three sets. He beat Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 on Friday.

Federer, who won this event in 2005, will face James Blake today. Blake beat Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

Federer is 6-0 against Blake. A win would make him the fifth-youngest player to win 50 titles, at 26 years, 11 days. Bjorn Borg won his 50th at 23 years, 7 months.

HENIN INTO FINAL

Justine Henin, the top-ranked player in the world, beat qualifier Yan Zi 6-3, 6-0 in the Rogers Cup semifinals yesterday in Toronto.

Henin, in her first appearance since being eliminated in the semifinals at Wimbledon, is using the Rogers Cup as a final tuneup for the U.S. Open.

"The confidence is back after Wimbledon, that's for sure," Henin said. "My level is good."

Yan, ranked 169th from China, was the first qualifier to reach the semifinals at the tournament in 11 years.

Henin will face No. 2 seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, who defeated 12th-seeded Tatiana Golovin of France, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

SOCCER

CHING ON U.S. ROSTER

Hale'iwa's Brian Ching is replacing Josh Wolff on the U.S. roster for Wednesday's exhibition game at Sweden.

Wolff, who had not appeared for the Americans since the World Cup, has been excused for personal reasons. He plays for 1860 Munich in the German second division.

Ching will be available for Houston's Major League Soccer game against Dallas today, then travel to Europe.

AUTO RACING

HAMLIN GETS BUSCH WIN

Denny Hamlin fought off a mid-race challenge from Matt Kenseth, then drove away for a dominating victory yesterday in the Carfax 250 NASCAR Busch Series race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich.

Hamlin, who will also race here in today's 3M Performance 400 Nextel Cup event, picked up his second Busch win of the season and the fourth of his career. His victory gave Cup regulars 22 victories in 25 tries on the Busch circuit this season.

BEACH VOLLEYBALL

DALHAUSSER, ROGERS WIN

Matt Fuerbringer and Casey Jennings were moving along nicely through the brackets at the inaugural AVP Boston Open beach volleyball tournament in Quincy, Mass.

That was when they were playing mere Earthlings.

"Phil (Dalhausser) is like a Martian from another planet," Jennings said yesterday after losing to the 6-foot-9 Dalhausser and Todd Rogers in the finals 21-16, 21-12. "He was just like a train, and we had a BB gun. You don't win that battle."

Dalhausser and Rogers won for the eighth time in 13 tries on the domestic AVP tour this season and the third time in four weeks.

Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor advanced to the semifinals with a 21-16, 21-13 victory over Tyra Turner and Rachel Wacholder. Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh also advanced to the semis, beating Dianne DeNecochea and Barbra Fontana 21-19, 21-14.

The women's finals are today.

Dalhausser and Rogers picked up $28,000 to split.

BOXING

ABRAHAM KEEPS TITLE

Unbeaten Arthur Abraham knocked out Khoren Gevor in the 11th round to retain his IBF middleweight title yesterday in Berlin.

Abraham (24-0, 19 KOs) punished his fellow Armenian-born German with shot after shot during the final four rounds.

In the 11th, Abraham's short uppercut spun Gevor's head around sharply and lifted him in the air. Gevor (27-3, 15 KOs) sagged onto his knees then toppled onto his back, going down for the first time in his career.

GYMNASTICS

U.S. MEN'S TEAM SET

National champion David Durante and runner-up Guillermo Alvarez lead the United States' six-man team for the world championships. The team must finish in the top 12 at worlds next month to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.

Also making the squad were Sasha Artemev, the world bronze medalist on pommel horse; Sean Golden; Jonathan Horton; and Kevin Tan. Sho Nakamori will be the alternate.