SHANGHAI:
Roger Federer survived a huge scare Thursday to reach the Shanghai
Masters quarter-finals and guarantee a record 300th week as world number
one as Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray showed ominous form.
The
Swiss 17-time Grand Slam champion came into the match against
compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka with an enviable 11-1 head-to-head record
but struggled to impose himself and was forced to dig deep before
winning 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-0.
In a
gripping contest lasting nearly two hours, Wawrinka missed a golden
chance when he failed to make the most of a break point opportunity at
4-4 in the second set that, if taken, would have left him serving for
the match.
Federer, surrounded this week
by black-clad security heavies after a bizarre pre-tournament death
threat, said reaching the jaw-dropping 300-week mark, which he will hit
when the new rankings are out on Monday, was an "incredible milestone".
Federer
returned to the number one spot following this year's Wimbledon
triumph. The previous record was held by American Pete Sampras, who
spent a total of 286 weeks as world number one.
Wawrinka,
who teamed up with his illustrious compatriot to win Olympics doubles
gold in 2008, broke Federer in the seventh game of the match to lead 4-3
and sealed the first set under lights at Qi Zhong Stadium.
Out-of-sorts
Federer, 31, continued to struggle in the second set as the pair
swapped breaks of serve and was in desperate trouble when Wawrinka
earned the break point that, if taken, would have given him a 5-4 lead
over his Davis Cup team-mate.
But the
Swiss great dodged that bullet and stayed strong in a nerve-jangling
tie-break to level the match, forcing a change of momentum and crushing
his dejected 27-year-old opponent 6-0 in the decider.
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