Posted at 6:35 a.m., Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Federer holds off Seppi in Monte Carlo Masters
Associated Press
MONTE CARLO, Monaco — Roger Federer labored to a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6) victory over Italy's Andreas Seppi today in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters.The 10-time Grand Slam champion, who had trouble with his backhand, sealed the victory on his third match point when Seppi netted a forehand.
The top-ranked Swiss will next play Lee Hyung-taik of South Korea, who upset 13th-seeded Mikhail Youzhny of Russia 6-4, 6-3.
In the first round, No. 11 Richard Gasquet of France needed six match points to beat Fernando Verdasco of Spain 7-5, 6-7 (12), 7-6 (3). Gasquet, a 2005 semifinalist, next plays Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia.
Gasquet had five chances to win the match in the second set, but Verdasco forced a decider after winning only his second tiebreaker of the season in 10 attempts.
"He has one of the best forehands in the world," Gasquet said. "It was a hard match. I'm happy to have fought until the end."
No. 8 Andy Murray of Britain withdrew from the singles after injuring his back in a doubles match with brother Jamie on Monday. No. 10 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic was leading 5-0 against Nicolas Almagro when the Spaniard pulled out with an undisclosed injury.
No. 12 David Ferrer of Spain beat Gilles Simon of France 6-3, 6-1; Benjamin Becker of Germany downed Thomas Johansson of Sweden 7-6 (4), 6-2; Nicolas Massu of Chile stopped Filippo Volandri of Italy 4-6, 7-5, 6-3; Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany defeated Romania's Andrei Pavel 6-2, 5-7, 6-4; and Sergio Roitman of Argentina topped Jurgen Melzer of Austria 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.
