A dominant and aggressive showing from Roger Federer saw him overcome Florian Mayer 6-0, 7-6 in the quarter-finals of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle today.

Federer got off to a ruthless start, taking his first break point in the first game of the match to break Mayer's serve immediately. Some magnificent tennis saw him blitz through the opening set, taking a 4-0 lead with plenty of positive and confident play that saw him attack the ball, as opposed to sitting back and letting his opponent dictate the game.

With a fair share of aces on his serve too, Mayer could not come close to even getting a half chance of a break point either, as Federer looked in a rush to get the job done as soon as possible.

Quick with his feet and accurate with his shots, the reigning champion was completely blowing Mayer away, with the German having to fight valiantly just to get his first game on the board, a feat he did not achieve until the second set as Federer took the first 6-0 in less than 20 minutes.

Mayer needed to respond and respond quickly, as if the match was to carry in this manner, it would be over very, very soon. Federer had won 100 per cent of his first serve points in the first set, 10 of his 11 points at the net and hit 14 winners - with Mayer hitting just one.

It was not that Mayer was playing that bad, but that Federer was absolutely ruthless. Mayer made just four unforced errors in the first set, a brilliant total, and this statistic outlined that it was not his poor play that resulted in that first set bagel, but Federer's world class showing.

Mayer did get his first game on the board as he served open the second set, but he did have to fight for it as Federer continued to remain dominant, dictating play. This set was much closer though, as Mayer matched Federer a little more and played some lovely shots of his own, including one down the line on the stretch in the Swiss' second service game that the reigning champion could only stand and admire as it flew past him.

A cross court drop shot was another highlight of Mayer's improved second set performance, whilst Federer starting to commit more errors, albeit none that were really punished significantly in the grand scheme of things.

One had to credit Mayer for the way he picked himself up after a confidence-crushing opening set, holding his first three service games and making things far more difficult for Federer by adding more conviction and variety to his game.

This magnificent turnaround looked like it would soon reap its rewards, with Mayer granted a half chance to break in the eighth game of the set as he lead 30-15 as Federer served. An ace, a skilful volley and another fabulous serve allowed the Swiss to recover though, and he approached the following game with a very aggressive, attacking mindset that saw him put pressure on Mayer's serve as the game went to deuce.

After saving one break point from this, Mayer eventually defended well to keep on serve as he took a 5-4 lead, forcing Federer to serve to stay in the second set. He held as convincingly as ever though, the game lasting merely seconds as we neared a tiebreak, one which seemed almost inevitable.

With each player holding their own, not risking a late break for their opponent, we would reach that tiebreak, and Federer would get a mini-break in the first point as his powerful play at the net forced Mayer to miss the line with his return shot. Composure from the Swiss quickly made this 2-0, 3-0 and 4-0 as victory loomed closer and closer, whilst defeat started to rear its ugly head from Mayer's perspective.

After being pushed much harder in the second set, Federer put plenty of breathing space between him and his opponent once again in the tiebreak, winning the match with a beautiful back-hand return down the line to earn himself a well-deserved standing ovation.

After an absolutely incredible showing, if anyone doubted Federer's chances of retaining his title once again this week, then they will have surely changed their mind now as he dispatched Germany's last hope of a winner in an hour and four minutes. 

He will face Ivo Karlovic in the semi-finals, who put on a marvellous display against Tomas Berdych earlier today that consisted of a whopping 45 aces - a new world record in a three-set match.