Federer into Sydney quarterfinals

Roger Federer showed panache in his win over Xavier Malisse Keystone

Switzerland's top tennis player, Roger Federer, has blasted his way through to the quarterfinals of the Sydney tournament, defeating Xavier Malisse.

Federer scored a stylish victory over the Belgian, showing why he is the second seed at the Adidas International with a 6-2, 6-4 win.

Malisse took a 2-0 early lead, breaking the Swiss in his first service game. Federer reacted promptly though to stop the rot, choosing to play at the net rather than from the baseline.

The Swiss’ tactics paid immediate dividends, winning the next nine games on the trot. The Belgian refused to give up the match though, came back to 4-3 in the second set after taking Federer’s service game.

If the Swiss succeeded in breaking his opponent’s serve immediately afterwards, he failed to close out the match in the next game. Malisse couldn’t make the most of his momentum though, and double-faulted twice to hand Federer the win.

“I’m very pleased,” said the Swiss after the match. “I expected a tough game, and I quickly realised the only option was to play at the net.”

Federer will play Chile’s former world number one, Marcelo Rios, in the quarterfinals.

In other tournaments, Patty Schnyder also reached the third round of the Canberra tournament with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Greece’s Eleni Daniilidou. Emmanuelle Gagliardi was less successful, going down to American Amy Frazier in Hobart 7-6, 6-4.

swissinfo with agencies