Roger Federer overpowers Feliciano Lopez to reach the quarters – Dubai Tennis Championships 2012
Current world number three, Roger Federer of Switzerland, faced limited difficulties in disposing of the 15th ranked Spanish veteran, Feliciano Lopez, in the second round of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on
Wednesday afternoon. Seeded at number two in the tournament draw, the Swiss Maestro took just 75 minutes to register an emphatic straight sets victory with, with the final scores of 7-5, 6-3, to advance into the quarter-final rounds.
Being a part of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 swing, the contest was played on the outdoor hard courts of Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Four-time champion of this particular
tournament, Federer registered his second straight sets victory of the event to reach the round of eight in style. His unbeaten run against Lopez extended his lead to 10-0 in the all-time head-to-head.
The two 30-year-old age fellows put up a decent show in the opening set, with Lopez labouring hard to gain some sort of advantage over Federer but his efforts went in vain in the end. Federer’s 70 per cent precise serve proved
to be his primary weapon of destruction in the contest, as he banged in 12 thudding aces and dropped merely three first serve points, clinching 34 out of 37 to come out as the dominating winner. Only two out of five break point conversions proved sufficient
for the second seed to wind up the proceedings of the match, while Lopez badly failed to even craft a break opportunity in the entire contest.
“I just tried to focus on my serve, made sure from that end I wasn't doing any stupid stuff, and at the end I got a bit of a read on his serve,” said Federer. “At the end of the set, [I] had some chances and eventually was able
to come through, even though I had chances at 5-4 and I think four set points. It's hard against him because he always gets the break points on his favourite side. With his lefty swinger, it obviously makes it extremely difficult, especially with the one hand.
But I found a way and stayed calm and came through.”
Federer will face the unseeded Russian competitor, Mikhail Youzhny, in the quarter-final round of the Dubai Tennis Championships. Youzhny registered a huge upset in the second round by outplaying the world number eight, Mardy Fish
of the United States, in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6(0), to book a date with Federer in the round of eight.