Sat, Apr 21, 2007 page19

• Federer, Nadal ease into round three at Monaco

  • AP
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  Roger Federer eased past Lee Hyung-taik 6-4, 6-3 on Thursday in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters, and Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak on clay to 64 matches.

  Federer, who has reached the quarter-finals at Monte Carlo three straight times, set up match point with a serve-and-volley winner and then earned the victory when Lee hit a powerful backhand long.

  "I think it was an average match from my side," Federer said.

  

  Rafael Nadal of Spain returns during his third round match against Christophe Vliegen of Belgium at the ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo Open in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, on Thursday.

  PHOTO: EPA

  Lee broke the top-ranked Swiss star in the third game of the first set, but Federer broke back in the fourth and took control after that.

  "Maybe it was just my timing in the beginning," Federer said. "I was just shanking a lot of the balls and not able to keep the ball in play. Once I was able to do that I was in total control. So I never felt worried too much today."

  Federer, a 10-time Grand Slam champion, lost last year to Rafael Nadal in the final at both the Monte Carlo Masters and the French Open -- the only major Federer has not won.

  Federer next plays 12th-seeded David Ferrer of Spain, who has never won a set against Federer in five losses. Ferrer recovered from 4-1 down in the first set to beat No. 6 Novak Djokovic of Serbia 7-5, 6-4.

  "He's an excellent player, especially on clay," Federer said. "This is where he's got the most confidence, so it's going to be difficult to beat him here. Having not lost a set doesn't mean much."

  Nadal scored 21 unanswered points in the second set to beat Kristof Vliegen of Belgium 6-1, 6-1. The Spaniard last lost on clay more than two years ago.

  "I'm happy with my level," Nadal said. "I played a very, very comfortable match. Very good forehands and backhands."

  Nadal dropped serve at the start of the second set but won the next 21 points before Vliegen pulled back to 15-15 at 5-1 down. Vliegen managed to win another point when Nadal hit an unforced error on his first match point.

  "I'm defending good. I'm running good," Nadal said. "I'm feeling better on clay in my movements."

  Nadal will next face Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, who beat Guillermo Garcia Lopez of Spain 5-7, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4).

  Also on Thursday, 10th-seeded Tomas Berdych rallied to beat No. 5 Tommy Robredo 1-6, 6-3, 6-2; No. 11 Richard Gasquet edged seventh-seeded Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-5; and No. 16 Juan Carlos Ferrero downed Igor Andreev of Russia 6-3, 6-3.

  Berdych, whose previous best at Monte Carlo was reaching the second round, was scheduled to play Robin Soderling in yesterday's quarter-finals. The Swede beat Max Mirnyi of Belarus 7-6 (5), 6-2.

  Gasquet's aggressive play earned him five breaks against Ljubicic. The Frenchman next plays Ferrero, a two-time champion at Monte Carlo.

  "This match means a lot to me," Ferrero said. "It gives me a lot of confidence. I never played against Gasquet. He's going to be very motivated."
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