CINCINNATI, 14 August 2003 — Wimbledon champion Roger Federer saved seven match points in a battle royal with Australian Scott Draper before prevailing 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 to reach the second round of the Cincinnati Masters Series on Tuesday.
Federer, the world number two, needed four match points of his own to close out a dramatic final set tiebreak 12-10.
In contrast, world number three Juan Carlos Ferrero was in serene form, showing Federer how to negotiate first-round obstacles by blitzing Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-0, 6-2.
Australians Lleyton Hewitt, the fifth seed, and Mark Philippoussis were due to meet in the second round but that prospect was killed off when they both lost in three sets — a fate which also befell ninth-seeded Thai Paradorn Srichaphan.
Sebastian Grosjean of France and Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten fell by the wayside in the evening session but seventh seed Andy Roddick — who won the Montreal Masters Series on Sunday — raced through with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.
No player has saved as many match points as Federer since Marcelo Rios survived seven against Ivan Ljubicic last year.
When journeyman Draper, the world number 114, took a 6-2 lead in the final set tiebreak on Tuesday, few would have backed even third-seeded Federer to escape.
But the Swiss, who can fluctuate between delightful brilliance and infuriating indifference, chose exactly that time to get serious.
Hewitt, whose renowned aggression was conspicuous by its absence, said he “did not feel 100 percent” after allowing Belgian Xavier Malisse to come back from a set down in their first-round match.
The former US Open and Wimbledon champion, who is enduring a patchy year by his standards, was broken twice in the first three games of the final set and eventually lost 3-6, 6-4 ,6-2.
Compatriot Philippoussis was beaten 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 by American Mardy Fish while Srichaphan could not shake off Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, who won 6-7, 6-4, 7-6.
Grosjean, seeded 10, must have thought the hard work was done when he edged a mammoth second set tiebreak 11-9 against South African Wesley Moodie.
But Moodie exploited the false sense of security to hit back with a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 victory.
Former world number one Kuerten, whose progress is still affected by on-going hip and back ailments, lost 6-4, 6-0 to Argentine Mariano Zabaleta.
Serna Ousts Maleeva,
Dokic Advances
In Toronto, Canada, Spain’s Magui Serna ousted sixth-seeded Bulgarian Magdalena Maleeva 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 from the second round on Tuesday at the 1.3 million-dollar WTA Tier One hardcourt tournament here.
Serna has won three consecutive matches for the first time since reaching the fourth round at the French Open in May. She arrived at this event having lost six of her last eight matches.
After receiving first-round byes, seventh seed Amanda Coetzer of South Africa topped Saori Obata of Japan, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4, and No. 8 Jelena Dokic of Serbia and Montenegro beat Indonesian qualifier Angelique Widjaja 6-4, 6-4.
Four Russians advanced to the second round as No. 12 Elena Bovina dispatched Spain’s Maria Sanchez Lorenzo, 6-2, 6-4, Lina Krasnoroutskaya overcame No. 13 Eleni Daniilidou of Greece, 6-0, 3-6, 7-5. No. 14 Nadia Petrova routed Germany’s Marlene Weingartner 6-0, 6-0, and Elena Likhovtseva defeated her 16-year-old countrywoman Maria Sharapova 7-6 (7 4), 6-1.
But Paola Suarez of Argentina ousted No. 16 Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1). No. 15 Nathalie Dechy of France rallied past Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, and France’s Mary Pierce trounced Venezuelan Maria Vento-Kabchi 6-1, 6-1.
The top three seeds swing into action with second-round matches that were to be played the next day.
Top seeded Belgian Kim Clijsters, playing her first tournament since capturing the world number one ranking with her triumph in Los Angeles, takes on Italian Francesca Schiavone.
