DOHA, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga set up a potential semi-final against Roger Federer after an untroubled 6-2 6-1 win over Spanish left-hander Albert Ramos in the Qatar Open on Thursday.

World number three Federer is seeking a 20th straight victory in his quarter-final against Andreas Seppi.

“It’s difficult to play against him (Federer),” the Frenchman said in a court-side interview. “I have to be perfect and play my best tennis but I know I can do it.”

Tsonga started strongly against Ramos, breaking the 23-year-old in the opening game.

Ramos hugged the baseline, but Tsonga tempted him to the net with a sliced dropshot the Spaniard could not counter, giving the Frenchman a break chance.

Ramos saved this and another as Tsonga shanked a backhand passing shot into the net, but the world number six broke at the third attempt following a Ramos error.

Tsonga then held to serve to love in his first two service games, taking a 3-1 lead.

DOHA (Reuters) – Roger Federer extended his winning run to 19 matches with an easy victory at the Qatar Open Wednesday while longtime rival Rafael Nadal was equally impressive as both eased into the quarter-finals.

Federer, seeded second, routed Slovenia’s Grega Zemlja 6-2 6-3 in an hour, dropping just 11 points in nine service games.

“I’m happy to come through matches easily at the beginning of the season, because it can be tricky when you enter the first tournament and right away you play an incredibly tough three setter,” Federer said in a post-match news conference.

Top seed Nadal, who took two and a half hours to battle past first-round opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber Tuesday, was more assured against qualifier Denis Gremelmayr as he strolled to a 6-2 6-2 win.

The unfancied German had won a solitary game in their only previous meeting and fared little better in windy Doha, Nadal pounding his fellow left-hander from the outset.

Like Federer, Nadal is looking to reclaim the world number one spot from Novak Djokovic.

The Qatar tournament is seen by both players as important preparation for this month’s Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, and the Spaniard has changed his approach to try to recapture top form.

DOHA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Roger Federer extended his winning run to 19 matches with an easy victory at the Qatar Open on Wednesday while longtime rival Rafael Nadal was equally impressive as both eased into the quarter-finals.

Federer, seeded second, routed Slovenia’s Grega Zemlja 6-2 6-3 in an hour, dropping just 11 points in nine service games.

“I’m happy to come through matches easily at the beginning of the season, because it can be tricky when you enter the first tournament and right away you play an incredibly tough three setter,” Federer said in a post-match news conference.

Top seed Nadal, who took two and a half hours to battle past first-round opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber on Tuesday, was more assured against qualifier Denis Gremelmayr as he strolled to a 6-2 6-2 win.

The unfancied German had won a solitary game in their only previous meeting and fared little better in windy Doha, Nadal pounding his fellow left-hander from the outset.

Like Federer, Nadal is looking to reclaim the world number one spot from Novak Djokovic.

The Qatar tournament is seen by both players as important preparation for this month’s Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the season, and the Spaniard has changed his approach to try to recapture top form.

DOHA (Reuters) – Top seed Rafael Nadal cruised into the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open with a routine 6-2 6-2 victory over qualifier Denis Gremelmayr Wednesday.

The unfancied German had won a solitary game in their only previous meeting and fared little better in windy Doha, Nadal pounding his fellow left-hander from the outset.

“The conditions weren’t easy, you try to move your legs at the last moment,” the Spaniard said in a court-side interview.

“I didn’t have a chance to practice a lot in the off-season, not as much as I would have liked. These matches are really important and the best practice I can have.”

Nadal had been troubled by a shoulder injury for several weeks but there was little sign of this as Gremelmayr, ranked 189 in the world, was forced to save a break point in the opening game.

The German lost his next service game, a poor forehand into the net putting Nadal 2-1 ahead and a break up.

Nadal seemed determined to avoid another long match after taking more than two-and-a-half hours to defeat first-round opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber in three sets Tuesday, with the schedule offering no rest days for the top seeds.

DOHA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Top seed Rafael Nadal cruised into the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open with a routine 6-2 6-2 victory over qualifier Denis Gremelmayr on Wednesday.

The unfancied German had won a solitary game in their only previous meeting and fared little better in windy Doha, Nadal pounding his fellow left-hander from the outset.

“The conditions weren’t easy, you try to move your legs at the last moment,” the Spaniard said in a court-side interview.

“I didn’t have a chance to practice a lot in the off-season, not as much as I would have liked. These matches are really important and the best practice I can have.”

Nadal had been troubled by a shoulder injury for several weeks but there was little sign of this as Gremelmayr, ranked 189 in the world, was forced to save a break point in the opening game.

The German lost his next service game, a poor forehand into the net putting Nadal 2-1 ahead and a break up.

Nadal seemed determined to avoid another long match after taking more than two-and-a-half hours to defeat first-round opponent Philipp Kohlschreiber in three sets on Tuesday, with the schedule offering no rest days for the top seeds.

DOHA (Reuters) – Third-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga used his Qatar Open second-round clash with Italian outsider Flavio Cipolla as a chance to experiment with serve and volley and the tactic worked well enough to earn the Frenchman a 7-6 6-3 victory on Wednesday.

Tsonga battered down consecutive aces and well as ferocious ground shots to hold his own serve in the early games but once he had a foothold he became more adventurous in his bid to give him the tools needed to win his first Grand Slam title.

“I’m trying to find something to play against the big four,” he said in a court-side interview. “I try to improve my game. I need something different than them to be better. I will try to go to the net more.”

On court in Doha, the world number six also appeared troubled by the swirling wind, gesticulating to the sky after hitting a wide backhand in one game and gifting his opponent two points with sliced backhands into the net in the next.

He compounded those errors with shanked forehands that sailed high to give Cipolla, 28, the game and a 4-3 lead.

The Italian then held serve to love, a feat Tsonga matched to make it 5-4, with Cipolla now serving for the set.

He blew his chance though as Tsonga broke back immediately before winning an enthralling tiebreak 10-8 after Cipolla twice failed to convert set points.

DOHA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Third-seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga used his Qatar Open second-round clash with Italian outsider Flavio Cipolla as a chance to experiment with serve and volley and the tactic worked well enough to earn the Frenchman a 7-6 6-3 victory on Wednesday.

Tsonga battered down consecutive aces and well as ferocious ground shots to hold his own serve in the early games but once he had a foothold he became more adventurous in his bid to give him the tools needed to win his first Grand Slam title.

“I’m trying to find something to play against the big four,” he said in a court-side interview. “I try to improve my game. I need something different than them to be better. I will try to go to the net more.”

On court in Doha, the world number six also appeared troubled by the swirling wind, gesticulating to the sky after hitting a wide backhand in one game and gifting his opponent two points with sliced backhands into the net in the next.

He compounded those errors with shanked forehands that sailed high to give Cipolla, 28, the game and a 4-3 lead.

The Italian then held serve to love, a feat Tsonga matched to make it 5-4, with Cipolla now serving for the set.

He blew his chance though as Tsonga broke back immediately before winning an enthralling tiebreak 10-8 after Cipolla twice failed to convert set points.

DOHA (Reuters) – Roger Federer staked his claim as one of the favorites for the Australian Open title later this month by romping into the second round of the Qatar Open, while rival Rafa Nadal survived a scare in windswept Doha on Tuesday.

Federer, hoping to win a record 17th grand slam in Melbourne later this month, thumped Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-2 6-2 in less than hour on a blustery evening.

Top seed Nadal, in contrast, battled back from a break down in the deciding set against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber to triumph 6-3 6-7 6-3 in two and a half hours. Third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was also wayward in a 7-6 6-7 6-1 win over Tunisian wildcard Malek Jaziri.

Federer said he was glad to get some night-time match practice.

“It was a combination of me playing really well and Nikolay not finding his range like we’re used to seeing in the past,” Federer told reporters. “This is obviously an important step to get used to the conditions.”

The 30-year-old Swiss has failed to win a grand slam title since lifting the 2010 Australian Open trophy but his appetite for tennis remains undimmed.

“If you don’t have that (motivation), you will have many losses due to a lack of interest,” said Federer.

DOHA, Jan 4 (Reuters) – Roger Federer staked his claim as one of the favourites for the Australian Open title later this month by romping into the second round of the Qatar Open, while rival Rafa Nadal survived a scare in windswept Doha on Tuesday.

Federer, hoping to win a record 17th grand slam in Melbourne later this month, thumped Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-2 6-2 in less than hour on a blustery evening.

Top seed Nadal, in contrast, battled back from a break down in the deciding set against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber to triumph 6-3 6-7 6-3 in two and a half hours. Third seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was also wayward in a 7-6 6-7 6-1 win over Tunisian wildcard Malek Jaziri.

Federer said he was glad to get some night-time match practice.

“It was a combination of me playing really well and Nikolay not finding his range like we’re used to seeing in the past,” Federer told reporters. “This is obviously an important step to get used to the conditions.”

The 30-year-old Swiss has failed to win a grand slam title since lifting the 2010 Australian Open trophy but his appetite for tennis remains undimmed.

“If you don’t have that (motivation), you will have many losses due to a lack of interest,” said Federer.

DOHA (Reuters) – World number two Rafa Nadal survived a scare in the first round of the Qatar Open on Tuesday, recovering from a break down in the final set to defeat Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 6-7 6-3.

Nadal, who has been troubled by a shoulder injury for several weeks, was in imperious form in the first set and broke his opponent to go 3-1 up with a crosscourt forehand winner. He went on to seal the set by ending a furious exchange at the net with a simple volley winner.

Kohlschreiber appeared to be heading for his eighth successive defeat by Nadal but stunned the 10-times grand slam winner by racing into a 3-0 lead in the second set.

At 4-2 up, Kohlschreiber netted a backhand to give Nadal a break back. The relentless power of Nadal’s shots left Kohlschreiber scrambling but he clung on to take the set into a tiebreak.

A brilliant crosscourt winner past a diving Nadal allowed Kohlschreiber to go 2-0 ahead in the tiebreak and he held on to bag it 7-2.

Kohlschreiber started the deciding set in similar fashion, running to a errant Nadal drop volley to hammer a forehand winner down the line to break serve.

But that only served to stir Nadal from his slumber, who broke back immediately and surged into a 4-1 lead he never looked like relinquishing.