DOHA – Second seed Roger Federer reached the Qatar Open quarter-finals on Wednesday with a 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 win over compatriot and close friend Marco Chiudinelli.
The 2005 and 2006 Doha champion fought back from a 4-5 deficit in the tie-break and then saw qualifier Chiudinelli lead 3-1 in the second set before he recovered to eventually take victory with a smash. French third seed Jo Wilfried Tsonga, making his comeback from a left knee injury, moved into the last eight with a 6-2, 6-4 defeat of wild card Sergei Bubka.
Latvian fifth seed Ernests Gulbis dropped just five points on serve in a comprehensive 6-3, 6-1 win over Croatia qualifier Antonio Veic. Earlier, Nadal won comfortably against Karol Beck, his 6-3, 6-0 success over the former top 40 Slovakian containing trademark heavyweight forehands struck from improbable positions.
