The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Federer leads a seed stampede

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Saturday, Aug 11, 2007
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Federer leads a seed stampede

TENNIS / Razzano stops Sania, Sharapova fights her way past Krajicek

— Photo: AP

STRETCHED: Rafael Nadal had to dig deep to get past Paul-Henri Mathieu in the Rogers Cup on Thursday.

MONTREAL: The top five seeds swept into the quarterfinals of the Rogers Cup on Thursday with Roger Federer setting the blistering pace.

The Swiss No. 1 played to perfection a day after celebrating a birthday on court, blowing out the candles on Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-1 in just 44 minutes.

Federer will have a Friday date with one-time doubles partner and long-time rival Lleyton Hewitt after the Australian battled past Dominik Hrbaty 6-7(10), 7-6(6), 7-5, in a match that took more than three hours.

Hot rival Rafael Nadal had to work harder in overcoming Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

His first set went longer than Federer’s entire match. Nadal had to save nine break points as he aims to add a second Montreal title to his collection after winning here in 2005. He has not lost to Mathieu in six career meetings.

“I didn’t play very well today, especially in the last games of the first set and the beginning of the second,” said the Spaniard.

“I played terrible with my forehand.

Clawing back

At Carson, top-seeded Maria Sharapova struggled past Michaella Krajicek 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-4 to become one of four Russians to book quarterfinal berths in the WTA East West Bank Classic on Thursday.

However, India’s Sania Mirza’s campaign was halted by France’s Virginie Razzano, who won 6-1, 7-6(8).

Sharapova, winner at San Diego last Sunday, clawed her way to a third-round victory over her unseeded Dutch opponent.

Sharapova will face compatriot Elena Dementieva in the quarterfinals. Dementieva, the ninth seed and defending champion advanced when No. 5 Daniela Hantuchova retired in the second set of their third-round match due to an upper-respiratory illness. Dementieva held a commanding 6-3, 4-1 advantage when her Slovakian opponent conceded.

Improved record

The 25-year-old Russian, who improved to 8-3 against Hantuchova, has yet to lose a set in three matches at this tournament and owns an eight-match winning streak here dating back to last year.

While Sharapova leads the all-time series with Dementieva, 6-2, she lost their semifinal meeting here a year ago.

The results:

At Carson: WTA East West Bank Classic: Third round: Nadia Petrova bt Katarina Srebotnik 6-1, 6-2; Elena Dementieva bt Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 4-1, retd.; Maria Kirilenko bt Gisela Dulko 6-3, 6-4; Victoria Azarenka bt Kateryna Bondarenk o 6-1, 6-2; Maria Sharapova bt Michaella Krajicek 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-4.

Virginie Razzano bt Sania Mirza 6-1, 7-6(8); Jelena Jankovic bt Sybille Bammmer 6-2, 6-1; Ana Ivanovic bt Lucie Safarova 6-2, 6-2.

At Montreal: ATP Rogers Cup: Third round: Roger Federer bt Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-1; Novak Djokovic bt David Nalbandian 6-2, 6-3; Nikolay Davydenko bt Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(8), 6-3; Radek Stepanek bt Tommy Haas 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

Rafael Nadal bt Paul-Henri Mathieu 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; Frank Dancevic bt Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; Lleyton Hewitt bt Dominik Hrbaty 6-7(10), 7-6(6), 7-5. — Agencies

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