World No. 1 Roger Federer breezed through irritating showers to shrug off Romania’s Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-2 and reach the Estoril Open quarter-finals on Thursday.
With conditions at their worst, the top seed needed just 59 minutes to dispatch the world No. 68 in the clay court event.
“It was rainy throughout the match, that’s always a hard thing,” 12-time Grand Slam champion Federer said. “The balls have a very dead feel, the kick serve is non-existent. You have to play in a different way.”
Federer, playing this low-key event for the first time as he prepares for a new assault on the French Open, the only Grand Slam title to elude him, was watched by his new coaching brains trust headed by Spain’s Jose Higueras and Swiss Davis Cup coach Severin Luethi.
Federer is hoping to lift his first title of a troubled season having seen his start to this year overshadowed by a battle with glandular fever. He has Higueras, who coached Michael Chang and Jim Courier to Roland Garros titles, on trial this week to see how the arrangement might work.
“Usually you start with a coach during practice week,” Federer said. “We started during a tournament.”
The world No. 1 took an early lead in Thursday’s drizzle, advancing to 3-1 in the opening set at the Estadio Nacional. Federer clinched the opening set in half-an-hour with a service winner, then showed he was hoping for a quick afternoon by breaking to start the second set.
The Swiss, who next faces either Joao Sousa or Federico Gil, both of Portugal, reached a comfortable 4-0 lead and moved into a winning position with three match points in the eighth game. But Hanescu had other plans, saving all three and forcing the Swiss to fire his third ace on a fourth opportunity to get the job done.
In other second-round matches, Czech Jiri Vanek defeated German eighth seed Michael Berrer 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, while Denis Gremelmayr took a win for Germany over Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 7-6 (8/6), 6-1.
Women’s second seed Maria Kirilenko reached the last eight with a defeat of Czech Petra Cetkovska 6-3, 6-2, while Ukranian Olga Savchuk put out Sweden’s seventh seed Sofia Arvidsson 6-2, 6-2
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■US MEN’S CLAY COURT
AFP, HOUSTON, Texas
Top seed James Blake took down another teenage opponent on Thursday to book his berth in the quarter-finals of the US$436,000 US Men’s Clay Court Championships.
Blake cruised to a straight sets victory over 15-year-old qualifier Ryan Harrison 6-3, 6-2.
The 28-year-old Blake, who is seeking his first title since the Pilot Pen in New Haven last August, also defeated 18-year-old Kei Nishikori of Japan on Wednesday.
Blake overcame his struggles on clay courts to advance to the quarter-finals. The world No.8, who improved to 33-34 on this surface, will face fifth-seeded Argentine Agustin Calleri.
On Tuesday, Harrison became the third-youngest player in 18 years to win an ATP match, defeating Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay.
Ranked 1,277 in the world, the Texas resident joined Richard Gasquet of France and current world No.2 Rafael Nadal of Spain as the only 15-year-olds to win a match since 1990.
Calleri posted a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Chilean Paul Capdeville earlier in the day. Calleri converted four-of-15 break point chances.
In other action, unseeded American Wayne Odesnik upset sixth-seeded Dudi Sela of Israel 6-3, 7-5.
Odesnik will face Argentina’s Sergio Roitman, a 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) winner over Russian Igor Kunitsyn.
Seventh-seed Spaniard Marcel Granollers-Pujol advanced to the round of eight with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Australian Peter Luczak.
Granollers-Pujol will face Marcos Daniel of Brazil, who beat Chile’s Nicolas Massu 7-6 (7/3), 6-2.
■FAMILY CIRCLE CUP
AFP, CHARLESTON, South Carolina
Maria Sharapova, enjoying a sparkling season so far, will test herself against an old foe in Serena Williams in the quarter-finals of the Family Circle Cup.
Sharapova, ranked No.4 in the world and seeded second, defeated unseeded Tatiana Perebiynis 7-5, 6-2.
Williams defeated Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Sharapova has stormed through the early stages of this year, going 23-1 with three titles, including the Australian Open.
Williams claimed both match-ups last year, including a showdown in the championship match in Melbourne.
Yet, Sharapova has shown that she has grown as a player, picking up her first clay title at Amelia Island on Sunday.
On the other side of the draw, top seed and defending champion Jelena Jankovic needed just 52 minutes to defeat Russian Anastasia Rodionova 6-0, 6-2.
Seeking her first title of the season, Jankovic will face ninth seed Vera Zvonareva of Russia in the quarter-finals. Zvonareva advanced with 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory over sixth-seeded Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli.
Fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia beat Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 7-5 and will meet seventh seed Patty Schnyder, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska.
Hungary’s Agnes Szavay and Alize Cornet of France complete the quarter-final lineup.
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