ROTTERDAM, Netherlands, 20 February 2004 — Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt both struggled with stubborn opposition before advancing at the World Indoor Tournament yesterday.
World No. 1 Federer let a commanding first-set lead slip against Romania’s Andrei Pavel before he edged into the third round 7-6, 7-5. His victory set up a quarterfinal showdown with Britain’s Tim Henman, who trounced Czech qualifier Tomas Cakl 6-2, 6-4.
Hewitt did just enough to overcome former Australian Open winner Thomas Johansson 7-6, 7-6.
Australian Open champion Federer started brilliantly against Pavel in a quest to extend his unbeaten run to a career-best 16 matches in ATP sanctioned events.
He frustrated Pavel with his array of penetrating and angled winners to race into a 5-2 lead in the opening set.
However, he suddenly seemed to lose interest and allowed Pavel to stage a fightback before regaining his focus to secure the tiebreak 7-2.
Pavel continued to trouble Federer in the second. The top seed eventually broke the deadlock in the 11th game before sealing victory in the next game with a volley.
Britain’s Henman will be looking to extend his 5-1 head-to-head record against Federer today.
A losing finalist here on three previous occasions, Henman beat Federer at the Paris Masters quarterfinals in October - the Swiss player’s last defeat in an ATP event.
Stepping up his bid to end an 11-month title drought, Hewitt needed one hour and 43 minutes to tame Sweden’s Johansson.
Johansson, competing in only his fourth top-flight ATP tournament since missing the entire 2003 season through injury, matched Hewitt shot for shot in the first set as the players exchanged four breaks before the tiebreak.
Hewitt eventually bagged the set 8-6 in the tiebreak with a barrage of fierce groundstrokes.
The Australian came unstuck in the second set, however, as Johansson turned up the heat at the Ahoy arena with a series of unreturnable serves and angled winners.
Hewitt was broken in the fifth game and the match looked to be heading towards a deciding set as Johansson served to level matters.
Roddick Survives Martin Test in Three-Set Thriller
In New York, American top seed Andy Roddick toiled for more than two hours to overcome compatriot Todd Martin 7-6, 1-6, 7-5 in the first round of the Kroger St Jude tournament in Memphis on Wednesday.
World number two Roddick, runner-up at the $690,000 event last year, was fully extended by the world number 60 before sealing victory on his first match point after two hours, 20 minutes.
The tone of the tight match was established in the opening set, when an exchange of breaks led to a tiebreak secured by Roddick 7-2. But Martin, with just two tour victories to his name this season, displayed the determination that has been his hallmark throughout a 14-year professional career, breaking Roddick twice in a quickfire second set to force a decider.
Crucially, Roddick’s serve held up down the stretch.
In other first round men’s matches on Wednesday, American former finalist James Blake beat South African Wesley Moodie 7-6, 6-1. Second seed Mardy Fish, beaten by Roddick in the San Jose final, overcame Frenchman Olivier Mutis 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
