MONTE CARLO, 15 April 2005 — Roger Federer survived a ferocious onslaught from powerful Chilean Fernando Gonzales at the Monte Carlo Masters yesterday, winning 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. The Swiss world No. 1, aiming for a record third consecutive Masters Series title, came through after two hours 21 minutes and will now face French teenager Richard Gasquet for a place in the semifinals.
Last year’s winner Guillermo Coria and French Open champion Gaston Gaudio also reached the last eight in the year’s first major clay-court tournament.
Federer, winner of eight of his last nine tournaments, had not dropped a set in two previous meetings with Gonzales and looked on course for another routine victory when he broke serve to lead 5-3 in the second set having strolled through the first. However, Gonzales broke back immediately and from that moment the Swiss maestro found himself in a real scrap.
Striking the ball with awesome power, the 24-year-old Gonzales dominated the second set tiebreak, winning it 7-3 with uncharacteristic errors spraying from Federer’s racket.
Earlier Gasquet had delighted the large Country Club crowd when he came from behind to beat 10th-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Davydenko served for the match at 5-4 in the second set but the exciting 18-year-old qualifier reeled off a string of winners to break before repeating the trick to level the match.
Cheered on by an army of fans Gasquet sped through the decider against a deflated Davydenko to reach his first Masters Series quarterfinal.
Coria was pushed hard early on against Spain’s Alberto Martin but he moved through the gears to win a first set tiebreak without dropping a point before posting a 7-6, 6-1 victory. The sixth seed will face Spanish opposition again in the quarterfinal after fellow Argentine Mariano Zabaleta was forced to retire against David Ferrer with an ankle injury after winning the first set 6-3.
Fourth seed Gaudio has slipped quietly through the draw without attracting much attention, a situation he said suits him fine after thrashing Romanian qualifier Victor Hanescu 6-2, 6-0. Italian Filippo Volandri kicked off a day of high-quality matches when he ended Mariano Puerta’s hot streak on clay with a 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 victory in a little under three hours.
Top-Ranked Davenport, Fourth
Seed Venus Advance With Ease
In Charleston, South Carolina, World No. 1 Lindsay Davenport and fourth seed Venus Williams advanced with ease at the WTA Family Circle Cup on Wednesday but Russian third seed Anastasia Myskina was ousted.
Davenport eliminated Canadian qualifier Marie-Eve Pelletier 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) at the $1.3 million clay court event. The 28-year-old American has won two titles in 2004, including her 47th career crown last week at Amelia Island. Davenport, 25-3 this season, plays for a quarterfinal berth against Ukrainian qualifier Viktoriya Kutuzova, who eliminated Colombia’s Fabiola Zuluaga 6-3, 6-1 at the French Open tune-up event.
Defending champion Williams fired 31 winners to bounce Czech Denisa Chladkova 7-6 (7-1), 6-2. The American will next meet France’s Tatiana Golovin in a third-round match.
Anastasia Myskina’s slump continued as Czech Nicole Vaidisova defeated the third seed 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, dropping Myskina to 8-8 for the year after a 55-18 season last year.
Belgium’s Justine Henin-Hardenne outlasted China’s Shuai Peng 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to also reach the round of 16. Henin-Hardenne next faces Czech Iveta Benesova with a potential quarterfinal spot opposite American Davenport awaiting her.
Second seed Elena Dementieva of Russia, who advanced Tuesday, will next face Nuria Llagostera Vives after the Spaniard defeated France’s Mary Pierce 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).
