Roger marches into quarters

Roger brushed aside Lleyton Hewitt 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 today to advance to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

Roger said: "He played very well the last couple of times we've played. I've always had tough ones against him. He's really picked up his game, he used to have issues on serve but now that's gone. I am happy to get through because Lleyton is a great competitor." Roger further commented that his athletic and mental strengths have allowed him to advance to a series of 15 victories against Lleyton Hewitt.

Lleyton Hewitt played aggressively but after a few games Roger found his rhythm and controlled the points. He left no doubt about his form as he varied pace, placement and spin on every shot, looking at ease. Hewitt also showed good tennis but was not able to match our number one. The match between the current and former world number ones certainly was a display of tennis of excellent quality.

Roger broke Hewitt in the middle of the first set, then going on to take the set. Roger dominated the game even more in the second set, winning it 6-3.The third set was a much tighter affair, but still Roger seemed comfortable while Hewitt continued to scrap for every point on offer.

Roger's reward is a last-eight match against sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko, ATP World Tour Finals champion, against whom Roger has lost the last two matches (semi-finals at the Masters '09 in November and in Doha in January '10).

Date: 25.01.2010, Source: RF Official