Tennis-Ferrer downs Chela to reach U.S. Open semi-finals

NEW YORK, Sep 6 (Reuters) Spaniard David Ferrer eased past Argentine 20th seed Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2 6-3 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the US Open, the best grand slam showing of his career.

The 15th seed, who beat Rafael Nadal in the previous round, wrapped up victory in two hours, four minutes to become only the fourth Spaniard to make the last four at the US Open in the open era.

Chela had won both their two previous meetings but Ferrer, 25, served superbly, ripping through the first two sets, though he did need seven set points to win the second.

The Argentine, in his second grand slam quarter-final, cut down his unforced errors in the third set but Ferrer broke in the 11th game and served out to set up a clash with third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia or Spanish 17th seed Carlos Moya.

REUTERS PBB KP0125