Federer beats Mannarino; Gasquet up next

Roger Federer continued his recent run of form with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over wild card Adrian Mannarino in the second round of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris on Wednesday. "I thought it was a good match for me," said Federer. "I think Mannarino didn't play the best match, but for me it was a good way to find my way into the tournament."

Federer dominated on serve, winning 90 percent of his points to advance in just 56 minutes. He is coming off of his fifth triumph at the Swiss Indoors Basel, where he defeated Kei Nishikori to win his second title of the season. "I felt rested coming into this tournament, even though it's been busy the last few days," Federer said. "That's a good feeling to have, because now I've got to back it up day after day if I want to do well here. I was happy with my performance today.  It was great."

The Swiss is seeking his first title at the event. His best finish came last year when he reached the semi-finals before falling to Gael Monfils, after holding five match points.

The 17-time ATP World Tour Masters 1000 champion will take on 16th seed Richard Gasquet for a place in the quarter-finals. "I'm going to prepare as if I had the best Richard Gasquet ever against me," stated Federer. "I will need to play a good match, otherwise it is not going to be enough tomorrow.

"He didn't play for a while, but I expect Gasquet to be totally fit, otherwise he wouldn't be back in competition. It would have been easy for him just to go off on holidays and prepare for next year. So if he's here, it means he can play."

Date: 09.11.2011, Source: ATP