Originally Posted by
www.abnamrowtt.nl - Rotterdam
Like Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer had to work hard for a place in the quarter finals. The Swiss primarily made life difficult for himself during his encounter with Andrej Pavel, who continually fought his way back. The highest ranking player in the world is nevertheless through to the next round: 7-6 (2), 7-5.
"Andrej was a tough opponent, and he gave absolutely nothing away," said Federer, who looks forward to playing Henman: "Tim was the last player to beat me at Paris Bercy, so I'll be looking to have my revenge."
If Federer is to beat Henman, he'll have to play better than he did today. The Swiss made quite a few careless mistakes. Having established a 5-2 lead in the first set, he lost the ninth game, despite having a matchpoint. The match went to a tiebreak before the Swiss had another opportunity to take the set. This time, he stepped up to the plate: 7-2.
The second set went with service, in spite of Federer playing two double faults in the eighth game, and Pavel facing a breakpoint in the ninth. The Swiss finally managed to break the Romanian's service in the eleventh game, and went on to take the second set 7-5.