"Last year was difficult," said Federer, who beat Kevin Anderson under the lights on Thursday. "I'm just happy playing enough matches where you feel like you have momentum, you have some confidence, and you're enjoying it at the same time. Last year, that wasn't always the case."
The 32 year old, projected to move up to No. 5 in the ATP Rankings after the quarter-final victory, expressed satisfaction with the state of his game.
"Things are easier now, and I'm able to take advantage of the fact that I'm just healthy.
"There is a sense of calmness and confidence to my game," Federer added. "Also that grit and that feeling of wanting to win badly, which was hard to find at times last year."
The seventh seed is one of two players in the Top 10 remaining in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 field, and could face second seed Novak Djokovic on Sunday in the title match. It would be a re-match of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship semi-final two weeks ago. First, he needs to beat Alexandr Dolgopolov in the semi-finals.
"It's nice proving it to myself, the team and my fans that they can still count on me. It's nice giving yourself opportunities to win a tournament, no doubt about that."
Federer remains on course to lift his 79th tour-level title and his 22nd ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown.
Date: 14th March 2014, Source: ATP
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