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Federer, Henman, Youzhny advance in Dubai
Top-ranked Roger Federer saved two match points and beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Open.
Federer, who won his third straight match in a third-set tiebreaker, will face seventh-seeded Mikhail Youzhny, a 7-5, 6-4 winner over Rainer Schuettler.
Third-seeded Tim Henman beat Igor Andreev 7-6 (5), 6-1, and will face Ivan Ljubicic, who beat Fernando Verdasco 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (8).
Ferrero, the 2001 Dubai champion, led 6-4 in the third-set tiebreak before Federer saved one match point with a big serve and Ferrero hit the next point long. Federer than closed out the match with a huge serve.
"A friend offered me $10 for every match I win 7-6 in the third set," said Federer, who was extended to third-set tiebreaks by Ivo Minar in the first round and Ljubicic in the final at Rotterdam last weekend. "It was too little, so I didn't accept it. But then he raised it to $20 and I couldn't refuse. So I hope to win 7-6 tomorrow as well."
Ferrero had Federer under pressure from the start, breaking the Swiss in the first games of the first and second sets. After dropping the opening game of the second, Federer roared back with eight straight points and breaks in the fourth and sixth games to even the match.
They traded breaks again in the sixth and seventh games of the third set and wound up in a tiebreaker.
Youzhny's and Schuettler's second-round match was interrupted by rain, but Youzhny prevailed for his third consecutive win over the German, evening their head-to-head record at 3-3.
Henman reached the quarterfinals for the second time this month.
"Winning the tiebreak was crucial and I am pleased to get through," Henman said. "The level of tennis was very high in the first set. He is a great athlete with a great physique and he can hit the ball hard."
The eighth-seeded Ljubicic, who has an ATP-best 17 wins this season, advanced beyond the second round for the fifth time this season.
Ljubicic has reached the championship match the last two weeks, losing to Joachim Johansson in Marseille, and to Federer in Rotterdam. He was also a finalist in Doha last month.
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