ROTTERDAM, Feb 17: Roger Federer was once again in vintage form as he hammered Swiss journeyman Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1 6-4 in the second round of the World Indoor Tournament on Thursday.
Former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson continued his resurgence by outgunning his in-form namesake Joachim Johansson 6-4 6-4. Ranked 128 places above his fellow Swiss, top seed Federer showed no signs of the jitters that had crept up during his opening match to reach the last eight for the sixth successive time.
The win also put him one match away from a possible showdown with Britain's Tim Henman, who beat Federer in the quarterfinals here last year. Third seed Henman will play Frenchman Michael Llodra later in the day.
Teenage qualifier Wawrinka, who carved the biggest win of his career in the previous round when he upset France's Sebastien Grosjean, barely knew what hit him in the first set as he lost it in 25 minutes.
The second set looked to be heading in a similar way when he was again broken at the beginning but cheered on by a boisterous crowd, Wawrinka found his footing and even earned a break point when his illustrious opponent was serving for the match.
After handing Wawrinka the opportunity to get back on to level terms by slamming the ball wide despite having an open court at his disposal, Federer quickly restored order by winning the next three points for the match.
Thomas Johansson, still trying to recapture his best form after injuries wrecked his 2003 season, had entered the contest as the underdog. Fifth seed Joachim arrived in the Dutch port city on a roll, having won two titles already this year.
But against his more experienced opponent, Joachim simply floundered, just as he had done in their only previous meeting last year. A single break in each set was enough for the 29th-ranked Thomas to reach the last eight, an ace on match point completing the victory.
Mario Ancic of Croatia unleashed 24 aces as he kept alive his chances of landing his first career title with a 6-4 6-3 win over Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus.
RESULTS:
FIRST ROUND: Sjeng Schalken (NED) bt Andrei Pavel (ROM) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4; Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) bt Dominik Hrbaty (SVK) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2; Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) bt Sebastien Grosjean (FRA) 7-6 (7/5), 6-2
SECOND ROUND: Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) bt Tomas Berdych (CZE) 7-6 (10/8), 6-0; Radek Stepanek (CZE) bt Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3; Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) 6-1 6-4; Thomas Johansson (Sweden) bt 5-Joachim Johansson (Sweden) 6-4 6-4 Mario Ancic (Croatia) beat Olivier Rochus (Belgium) 6-4 6-3.
MAURESMO DISMISSES PIERCE
BRUSSELS: Top seed Amelie Mauresmo swept aside French compatriot Mary Pierce 6-4 6-1 in the second round of the Antwerp Diamond Games tournament on Thursday. Earlier, Australian Alicia Molik, a quarter-finalist last month at the Australian Open where she beat Venus Williams, battled past Bulgarian Magdalena Maleeva 4-6 6-2 7-6.
RESULTS:
SECOND ROUND: Amelie Mauresmo (France) bt Mary Pierce (France) 6-4 6-1; Klara Koukalova (Czech Republic) bt Claudine Schaul (Luxembourg) 6-4 6-3; 4-Alicia Molik (Australia) bt Magdalena Maleeva (Bulgaria) 4-6 6-2 7-6 (9-7).
RODDICK ADVANCES
RALEIGH: Top seed Andy Roddick defeated unseeded Frenchman Arnaud Clement for the first time on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Kroger St Jude championships in Memphis, Tennessee.
Seeking a second consecutive ATP title after taking the San Jose Open last weekend, the American world number three won 6-3 6-3 in the second-round match, claiming a maiden victory over Clement after two previous defeats.
Roddick's victory sets up a last eight encounter against the winner of Thursday's match between compatriots Mardy Fish and Robby Ginepri. Third seeded Tommy Haas of Germany maintained his good form and broke serve three times en route to a 6-4 6-4 first-round victory over American qualifier Jeff Salzenstein.
Haas reached the semi-finals in San Jose before losing in straight sets to Roddick. In the WTA event, top seed and defending champion Vera Zvonareva of Russia beat France's Severine Beltrame 7-6 6-3 and third-seeded American Meghann Shaughnessy defeated Hana Sromova of the Czech Republic 6-3 6-2 in second-round matches.
RESULTS:
MEN FIRST ROUND: Cyril Saulnier (France) bt Robert Kendrick (U.S.) 5-7 6-3 6-4; Tommy Haas (Germany) bt Jeff Salzenstein (U.S.) 6-4 6-4; Wayne Arthurs (Australia) bt Jurgen Melzer (Austria) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4);
SECOND ROUND: Andy Roddick (U.S.) bt Arnaud Clement (France) 6-3 6-3;
WOMEN:
SECOND ROUND: Vera Zvonareva (Russia) bt Severine Beltrame (France) 7-6 (7-0) 6-3; Meghann Shaughnessy (U.S.) bt Hana Sromova (Czech Republic) 6-3 6-2; Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic) bt Kristina Brandi (Puerto Rico) 6-2 6-2; Evgenia Linetskaya (Russia) bt Yuka Yoshida (Japan) 6-2 6-2; Katerina Bondarenko (Ukraine) bt Angela Haynes (U.S.) 7-6 (7-3) 7-5; Cho Yoon-jeong (South Korea) bt Abigail Spears (U.S.) 6-4 6-4; Akiko Morigami (Japan) bt Michaella Krajicek (Netherlands) 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (9-7) 6-4. -Agencies
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