Top-ranked Roger Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal each won in
straight sets Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals at the Qatar
Open.
Federer beat Evgeny Korolev of Russia 6-2, 6-4 and Nadal
defeated Potito Starace of Italy 6-2, 6-2.
Federer broke three times in the first set and once in the
second. The Swiss star, who won the Qatar Open in 2005 and '06,
will next play either Andreas Seppi of Italy or Ernests Gulbis of
Latvia on Thursday.
``I know how he plays so I had the match under control,''
Federer said. ``He plays a lot of balls on the forehand, so I was
able to stay ahead in the match. There were long rallies in the
second set, but I am pleased to have reached the quarterfinals.''
It was Federer's 17th win in Doha, having lost only two
matches in five appearances at the tournament.
Nadal improved to 6-0 against Starace, who has only a 2-16
record against top-10 opponents.
The Spaniard broke Starace twice in each set, returning well
from the baseline and taking advantage of Starace twice hitting
groundstrokes into the net. Nadal will next play Steve Darcis of
Belgium, who beat Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco 6-3, 6-1.
``I am happy with my form,'' Nadal said. ``This was
confirmation that I am playing well. Right now, I am just
concentrating on winning each game I play ... Now, I am only taking
one match at a time. It wasn't a tough match.''
Third-seeded Nikolay Davydenko topped Marco Chiudinelli of
Switzerland 6-3, 6-4, while Victor Troicki of Serbia beat Olivier
Rochus of Belgium 6-2, 6-2.
``I am surprised to have won the match in two sets,''
Davydenko said. ``I practiced for only two weeks and then I fell
sick. I was on medicine before coming here, so I am still
struggling with my shots.''
