Hamburg, Germany (My Sportsbook) - Reigning champion Roger Federer and
Australian Open titlist Novak Djokovic were easy quarterfinal winners Friday
at the $2.955 million Masters Series Hamburg, a clay-court French Open
tuneup.
The top-seeded Federer blew past Spanish lefthander Fernando Verdasco
6-3, 6-3, while the third-seeded Djokovic stayed hot by dousing Spaniard
Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3 on Day 6 at Rothenbaum. The high-flying Djokovic
was last week's clay-court champion in Rome.
Federer is now a stellar 28-3 lifetime at this event.
The reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Federer beat clay-court
king Rafael Nadal in last year's Hamburg finale to capture his fourth
title here in six years (2002, 2004-05, 2007). Nadal bested Federer in a
clay-court finale in Monte Carlo last month.
The three-time French Open champion Nadal has to beat Carlos Moya on Friday
and then Djokovic on Saturday in order to retain his world No. 2 ranking. |
