Sport | Tennis
Federer survives scare to reach quarterfinals
World Number One Roger Federer survived a scare from Mohammad Al Gareeb of Kuwait before winning 7-6 (5), 6-4, after Belgium's Olivier Rochus had sent Marat Safin crashing out 7-6 (5), 6-4 to book their respective spots in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open here yesterday.
- By Alaric Gomes, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:32 May 3, 2009
Dubai: World Number One Roger Federer survived a scare from Mohammad Al Gareeb of Kuwait before winning 7-6 (5), 6-4, after Belgium's Olivier Rochus had sent Marat Safin crashing out 7-6 (5), 6-4 to book their respective spots in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Men's Open here yesterday.
Eighth seeded Tomas Berdych joined the list of casualties when he went down in three sets 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 against unheralded Robin Vik.
It was a battle between two gritty players on centre court during the afternoon session as first Safin made a match against Rochus, while Al Gareeb made himself feel proud against the world's best player later on.
Federer will now run into Vik in the quarterfinals, while Rochus will take on Mikhail Youzhny in the last eight stage.
If the encounter between Rochus and Safin was a treat for the modest crowd assembled in the hot afternoon sun on centre court, the match between Federer and Al Gareeb proved to be the definite highlight.
Given the difference in rankings between the two players, fans could have expected a much easier scoreline for Federer.
But that was not the case as Al Gareeb used his main weapon of a huge first serve to maximum effect and rattled the world's best player.
"I was hoping for an easier one. But he served well and played well even as I played quite passive in the first set," Federer admitted.
"He was the better player in the first set, and it was only my experience that got me through in the end. It's hard to be out for a month and then hit peak form," he added.
The Kuwaiti, ranked a distant 488 on the Men's Tour, had the early sight of the set as he broke Federer in the fifth and then held serve for a 4-2 lead.
But, Federer is not the best player in the world for nothing. He came right back with a break in the 10th to force the set into the tie-breaker, which he went on to win to take the lead.
The second set was not easy either, but Federer got a crucial break in the seventh game and then held serve for a 5-3 cushion.
"This was the start of my dream and I hope to chase this dream by raising my level," Al Gareeb said.
Making a comeback on the Tour, Safin stuttered, first on his serve and then in his shot-making as he went down to Rochus 7-6 (5), 6-4 in the first game yesterday.
"It's normal for me to win as I am yet to find my rhythm after being away for so long," Safin said.
"I don't know how soon I can get back to my old form, but it definitely will come after a lot of hard work, practice and a lot of good draws at other tournaments," he added.
Rochus, who had a 1-5 record against the Russian, was pleased with the win. "I knew I had the game to disturb him, so I used a lot of slices against him," Rochus stated.
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