Roger Federer continued his unbeaten run since the Athens Olympics with another overwhelming performance and a win over former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski, which carried him to the quarterfinals of the $1-million Qatar Open on Wednesday.
Federer’s 6-3,6-4 success looked for a while as though it might be more one-sided, because he won the first seven points, broke serve at once, and raced to a 3-0 lead in less than 10 minutes.
But having achieved such a comfortable cushion, the triple Grand Slam titleholder found it difficult to maintain his highest standards and had to be satisfied with only flashes of his brilliant best.
”There is only so much which you can do yourself,” Federer said. ”But I kept him under pressure all the time and I took my opportunities. I can play better but I can play worse as well, so I am happy.”
There were just two moments when it seemed that Rusedski, who aims to regain a place in the top 20 after a 2004 ruined by a doping controversy, might make a tougher contest of it.
He held serve up till 3-2 in the second set and then had Federer at 15-40 on his serve.
But the blue-shirted, blue-shoed top seed made a cool backhand pass on the first break point, then played a silky smooth baseline rally that lured Rusedski into over-hitting on the second.
Rusedski now flies to Sydney to continue his preparations for the Australian Open starting the week after next, while Federer takes on another left-hander, Feliciano Lopez, the improving eighth-seeded Spaniard for a place in the last four in Qatar.
In the same half of the draw, Sebastien Grosjean, the Wimbledon semifinalist, faces Nikolay Davydenko, the Kremlin Cup winner, which means all four seeds have come through in the top section.
But this was also the day for two 18-year-olds of whom the sport is likely to hear much in future.
Rafael Nadal, who beat Andy Roddick to help Spain win the Davis Cup last month, reached the quarterfinals by beating his compatriot Fernando Verdasco in straight sets, and Gael Monfils, the world’s leading junior last year, very nearly joined him.
Monfils, who has not yet played in a Grand Slam, beat French Open champion Gaston Gaudio on Tuesday and followed it with a match point against a former champion in Qatar, his countryman Fabrice Santoro, on Wednesday.
The speed and tenacity of Monfils’s court coverage was startling, and so was his departure after a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 loss to his fellow Frenchman.
The teenager collapsed with cramp both before and after the final point, but when they began to wheel him off on a stretcher he was having none of it, dragging himself off the vehicle and hobbling away instead, to loud cheers.
Santoro now plays Albert Costa, the former French Open champion from Spain, while Nadal faces Ivan Ljubicic, last year’s runner-up from Croatia. — Sapa-AFP