Roddick outguns Safin as Federer keeps cool

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-01-20 09:20

'NONSENSE' HAWK-EYE

Federer inflicted technical frustrations of a different sort on Mikhail Youzhny, using the Hawk-eye system he had earlier in the week derided as 'nonsense' to help him pass the Russian 25th seed.

At set point in the opener, a Federer serve was called out but the Swiss referred the call to the instant replay technology and the decision was overruled.

A string of disputed calls in the third set left the Swiss bereft of challenges and another decision irked him in the closing stages of a tense tiebreak, but he went to on to seal a fourth-round tie with Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-3 7-6.

"I wish I had none (challenges) all the time, nothing has changed," an unforgiving Federer blasted after his eighth successive win over the Russian.

Serb prodigy Djokovic, the 14th seed, dropped his first set of the week when coming through in four against Thailand's Danai Udomchoke, the last Asian representative in the men's draw.

Home hopes suffered in heartbreaking fashion when veteran Wayne Arthurs reacted to a painkilling injection in his leg and was forced to bow out of his third-round match after three games against American Mardy Fish.

Richard Gasquet won the battle of the 20-year-old Frenchmen 6-0 4-6 7-5 6-3 against Gael Monfils and faces seventh seed Tommy Robredo of Spain after his four-set disposal of 19-year-old American Sam Querrey.

CZECH OUT

Czech 20th seed Radek Stepanek will have more time to cheer on fiancee Martina Hingis after he crashed 6-7 4-6 6-0 6-4 6-3 in a marathon three hour 51 minute epic to Spain's David Ferrer.

Ancic booked his fourth-round berth courtesy of a 6-3 6-2 6-1 rout of Slovak 22nd seed Dominik Hrbaty.

Mauresmo happily strolled into a last-16 place against unseeded Czech Lucie Safarova after a 6-3 6-1 win over another Czech, world number 83 Eva Birnerova.

Third seed Svetlana Kuznetsova bustled her way through at the expense of fellow Russian and 26th seed Maria Kirilenko 6-1 6-4.


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