Roger Federer squeaks past Thiemo de Bakker to enter quarters – Rotterdam ATP 2013
World number two, Roger Federer, outclassed the local wild card entrant, Thiemo de Bakker, in straight sets at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament 2013 on Thursday. He recorded a 6-3, 6-4 victory against the Dutch to power into the final eight at this ATP
(Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 series event taking place in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The top seed, Federer stayed on track to bag his third title at this indoor hard court event. He previously conquered this event in 2005 and in 2012. The contestants previously met each other at the Davis cup last season and after notching this victory,
the Swiss improved to a 2-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against de Bakker.
The 31-year-old stated in a courtside interview after clicking the match:
“It's always good when you start the tournament late, to start strong. If you want to win the tournament, you need to win five matches in five days. So it's good to save energy. You relax a little bit once you reach the second or third round. I'm really
happy to be back in Rotterdam and starting the tournament so well.”
Federer made a powerful entry at the Ahoy Rotterdam and held his opening game with poise. He drew the first blood in the fourth game and jumped to a 4-1 lead. The Swiss then ruled his remaining serves and eventually bagged the opener with a 6-3 win.
The former world number one, Federer kept momentum rolling in the proceeding set. He got the desiderated break in the opening game and took the initial lead. The Swiss then swiftly kept his entire serves and subsequently clinched the set with a 6-4 score
line
Ranked 123rd in the Emirates ATP World Tour Rankings, de Bakker squandered the only breakpoint he sought. He produced a better first serve share but only marked 22 out of 32 points on it.
The Swiss Maestro will square off against France’s Julien Benneteau in the quarter-finals.
The second seed, Juan Martin Del Potro, will join Federer in the last eight. He dumped the Latvian qualifier, Ernests Gulbis, in straight sets to set up this clash.
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