Federer cruises past Rusedski in Qatar
The world no. 1 dished out another overwhelming performance which carried him to quarter-finals of the $1 million event on Wednesday.
Roger Federer continued his unbeaten run since the Athens Olympics with another overwhelming performance and a win over former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski which carried him to the quarter-finals of the $1,000,000 Qatar Open on Wednesday.
Federer's 6-3,6-4 success looked for a while as though it might be more one-sided, because he won the first seven points, broke serve at once, and raced to a 3-0 lead in less than ten minutes.
But having achieved such a comfortable cushion, the triple Grand Slam titleholder found it difficult to maintain his highest standards and had to be satisfied with only flashes of his brilliant best.
"There is only so much which you can do yourself," Federer said.
"But I kept him under pressure all the time and I took my opportunities. I can play better but I can play worse as well, so I am happy."
There were just two moments when it seemed that Rusedski, who aims to regain a place in the top 20 after a 2004 ruined by a doping controversy, might make a tougher contest of it.