Cincinnati (Ohio), Aug 21 (DPA) Roger Federer dropped only his second career set to Spain's David Ferrer before fighting back Thursday for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory into the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Masters.

The victory in one hour, 42 minutes, puts Federer into a match against the winner between American Sam Querrey and two-time finalist Lleyton Hewitt of Australia.

'I'm happy with how I played,' said 15-time Grand Slam champion Federer.

'It was tough. Conditions were tricky. David didn't make many mistakes. This was one of those matches I had to win. I played well at the end to come through.'

Third seed Andy Murray should have the fitness advantage in his quarter-final with Julien Benneteau after a quick 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Czech Radek Stepanek.

Benneteau, a lucky loser from qualifying, needed to go more than three hours to overcome Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).

Murray is aiming for his third North American Masters title this season after winning Miami in the spring and Montreal last weekend.