Federer to face Nishikori in Paris quarter-finals

Roger Federer began his pursuit of tour-level title No. 100 on Thursday, beating 13th seed Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters.

"I think both of us were far from our best, but we fought with what we had and at the end I think I maybe served a bit better in the important moments than Fabio did. Off the baseline, it was tough. He takes the ball early and can really redirect really well. But I’m very happy because it means I’m moving on in the tournament."

Federer, who received a walkover into the Round of 16 due to Milos Raonic's withdrawal, is trying to triumph in Bercy for the second time in his career. The Swiss has now moved into the last eight at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in five of his past six appearances.

The 27-time ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titlist is gaining momentum ahead of his 16th appearance at the ATP Finals. Federer, currently No. 3 in the ATP Rankings, will try to lift a record seventh trophy at the season finale in London, to take place at The O2 from 11-18 November. The 37-year-old improves to 45-7 in 2018, making at least the quarter-finals in 10 of 12 events this season.

Federer now leads Fognini 4-0 in their ATP Head to Head series, winning all 10 sets they have played. The 99-time tour-level champion has won nine of those 10 sets by a margin of 6-4 or greater, coming out victorious on Thursday in just 73 minutes.

Federer did well on return, continuing the momentum he gained winning the title at last week’s Swiss Indoors Basel. The third seed won 46 per cent of his return points to eliminate the Italian, who captured three ATP World Tour titles this season. Federer will next face No. 10 seed Kei Nishikori, who beat seventh seed Kevin Anderson.

He said he was trying to play in Paris without pressure and that his major concern was regaining the ATP World Tour title in London later this month.

"If it turns out well, good. If it doesn't, well, too bad. I tried. It's good to play in a relaxed manner for once, to find something in my game that could help me out for London," he said.

"I didn't come here to win Paris, actually. My objective is London. If I can do well here in Paris, all the better. But I'm not there yet. We'll just wait and see."

The Swiss beat Nishikori three weeks ago at the Shanghai Masters in straight sets. The Japanese star, however, will be motivated by trying to keep his dreams of qualifying for the ATP Finals alive.

Date: 1 November 2018, Source: ATP and Reuters