Federer rolls; Nadal barely reaches Dubai QFs

Feb 28, 2007, 21:33 GMT

Dubai, United Arab Emirates - Three-time champion Roger Federer was a straight-set second-round winner, while reigning titlist Rafael Nadal went the distance to advance on Day 3 at the $1.5 million Dubai Tennis Championships.

The top-seeded/world No. 1 Federer got past Italian Daniele Bracciali 7-5, 6-3 to record his personal-best 38th straight match victory.

Federer was last year's Dubai runner-up to Nadal and captured this lucrative hardcourt event back-to-back-to-back from 2003-05.

Federer's quarterfinal opponent here on Thursday will be seventh-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic, who lost to the mighty Swiss in straight sets at the recent Australian Open.

A second-seeded Nadal won his seventh straight match at this tournament by holding off dangerous Russian Igor Andreev 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2) at Dubai Tennis Stadium.

The reigning two-time French Open champion Nadal, of Spain, will encounter last week's Rotterdam titlist Mikhail Youzhny here on Thursday.

Third-seeded world No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko was an upset victim on Day 3, as the gritty Russian succumbed to pesky Belgian Olivier Rochus 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. On Tuesday, Davydenko needed just under three hours to sneak past 35-year-old Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui in three sets.

Fifth-seeded German Tommy Haas won his seventh straight match overall by handling Frenchman Florent Serra 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. Haas is fresh off his title in Memphis, where he upended U.S. Open runner-up Andy Roddick in last week's finale.

In other action involving seeds, a surging Youzhny upended sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 and the aforementioned Djokovic topped German qualifier Rainer Schuettler 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.

Two other results saw Swede Robin Soderling subdue Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty 6-3, 7-5 and Frenchman Fabrice Santoro stop his countryman Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-2. Simon titled in Marseille just two weeks ago.

The other quarterfinals here will pit the hot Haas against Rochus and Soderling versus Santoro, the 2002 Dubai champion.

This week's titlist will collect $300,000.

© 2007 The Sports Network