Roger Federer inched closer to a sixth Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title on Wednesday as he advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Marcel Granollers. The Swiss’ backhand and reflexes were razor sharp as he broke serve once in each set to prevail in 71 minutes.
World No. 2 Federer is chasing his first ATP World Tour title since August, when he won his 76th tour-level crown at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati defeated Djokovic as 6-0, 7-6. Federer has a 36-4 record at this ATP World Tour 500 hard court tournament, having lifted the trophy in 2003-05, ’07 and last year, beating Andy Murray in the final.
“I think I was sharper today,” said Federer. “I had a clearer plan. I knew what I could and couldn't do. So that automatically carves out sort of the things you might want to attempt. I was a bit more confident overall. I knew what I wanted to do and I was able to do it, so I'm happy.”
On Thursday Federer will resume his rivalry with Nikolay Davydenko, over whom he holds an 18-2 Head to Head record. The Russian, a finalist at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha at the start of the season (l. to Gasquet), defeated Victor Hanescu 6-4, 7-6(2) in one hour and 48 minutes.
“I'll never disrespect a guy like Nikolay,” said Federer of Davydenko, who has dropped from a career-high No. 3 to No. 46 in the ATP Rankings. “He's done too much in the game. That's why I know it's a dangerous round next match. I know what he can do on his absolute best day because I was one of the guys that got crushed by him as well during that time. I expect him to come out and play that way.”
Roger Federer In Finals
Roger Federer In Finals
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