18th May, 2012
Roger Federer held off a spirited challenge by Spanish veteran, Juan Carlos Ferrero, to book a place in the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters with a hard-fought 6-2 5-7 6-1 victory.
The 32-year-old Ferrero fought back after dropping the first set to seize the single decisive break in the second, only for the Swiss third seed to turn on the style in the decider and wrap up victory in one hour and 47 minutes.
Federer, seeking his second consecutive clay-court title after victory in Madrid next week, will play home favourite, Andreas Seppi, in the last eight after the Italian squeezed past Federer’s Davis Cup team-mate Stanislas Wawrinka 6-7 (1/7) 7-6 (8/6) 7-6 (8/6).
Like Federer, world number one and defending champion, Novak Djokovic, also did not have things his own way as he was pushed to a deciding set before dispatching Argentina’s Juan Monaco to reach the last eight.