AN ATP MASTERS SERIES EVENT
13th - 21st OCTOBER
ATP News : 2008
FEDERER STRETCHED TO THE LIMIT
Top-seeded Swiss Roger Federer fought back from a 1-5 deficit in the third set to beat World No. 137 Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(1) Wednesday for a place in the third round of Masters Series Monte-Carlo Presented by Rolex.
 www.atptennis.com Federer won five games in a row to force a tie-break where nerves got the better of Ramirez Hidalgo in only his 15th meeting against a Top 10 player in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. Ramirez Hidalgo twiced served for the match in the third set and was two points from victory at 5-2 and 5-4, but Federer found his top form at just the right time. Federer committed 55 unforced errors in his 17th victory of the season. The match last two hours and four minutes. The 30-year-old Ramirez Hidalgo drops to 3-12 lifetime against Top 10 players. His last Top 10 win came over No. 5-ranked James Blake at New Haven in August 2006. Federer, who clinched his 54th career ATP singles title at Estoril last week (d. Davydenko), will next meet Gael Monfils of France. Monfils defeated No. 15 seed Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 7-6(8), 6-1 in 88 minutes. Karlovic won just 38 of 73 points on serve and for the first time at an ATP tournament he did not serve a single ace. American Sam Querrey, who went 1-5 on clay last year, hit seven aces in beating Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-1, 7-5 in 80 minutes. Vince Spadea was the last American to reach the third round or better at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. In 2003, Spadea lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the semifinals. |