Madrid Masters (2nd Round)

Federer Sets All-Time Prize Money Mark; Tsonga Advances

World No. 2 Roger Federer began his bid to reclaim the title at the Mutua Madrilena Masters Madrid by defeating Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 7-6(6) on Wednesday.

In doing so, Federer surpassed Pete Sampras as the all-time leader in career prize money in men's tennis. The Swiss, who earned 24,200 Euros ($32,428) for reaching the third round in Madrid, increased his career total to $43,300,847. Sampras earned $43,280,489 during his outstanding career.

Federer made a confident start to his second round opener, dropping just two points on serve in the first set. Stepanek saved the one break point chance of the ensuing set to force a tie-break, where the No. 2 seed delivered on his second match point to secure the straight-sets win in under 90 minutes.



"I thought I actually moved okay, I had a good spring in my step," said Federer. "You can always serve a bit better, but my feeling out there was positive and confident, which was a good thing to have in the first round, which tend to be tricky."

Federer, a winner of 14 ATP Masters Series shields, is looking to win his first of the 2008 season. He was a finalist at Monte Carlo and Hamburg during the clay court circuit, both times falling to Spaniard Rafael Nadal. He defeated Chilean Fernando Gonzalez to clinch the Madrid title in 2006, and finished runner-up to Argentine David Nalbandian last year.

The Swiss next faces a first-time meeting with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (pictured). The 16th-seeded Frenchman earned a hard fought 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Spanish qualifier Marcel Granollers. Tsonga said: "I maybe played exactly the same tennis (as in Australia). I won a tournament two weeks ago. I played well, like at the start of the year."

"Today, I had the match in my hands and I couldn't close it out," said Granollers, who had served for the match at 5-3 in the third set. "But we have to look at the positive side again and I think that even though I lost 7-6 in the third set, that gives me more confidence."

The 23-year-old Tsonga, who missed three months of the season with a knee injury, reached the Australian Open final in January (l. to Djokovic) and captured his maiden ATP title at Bangkok three weeks ago, avenging his defeat to the Serb in the final. The right-hander still has the chance to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup, starting the week at No. 14 in the ATP 2008 Race with 255 points, 57 points down on No. 8 Juan Martin del Potro.

Federer said about the Frenchman: "He seems to be enjoying the tour; he's a great character for the game... I'm happy he won today so I get a chance to play him."

American No. 8 seed and five-time Tennis Masters Cup qualifier Andy Roddick fired 13 aces and converted on two of his three break point chances in his second round match to dispatch Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-4. Roddick will look to reach the Madrid quarterfinals for the first time in five event appearances when he next confronts Frenchman Gael Monfils.

The 26-year-old currently holds down the No. 6 spot in the ATP 2008 Race, and can overtake Russian Nikolay Davydendo in the standings by reaching the final this week. Roddick has won three titles this season at San Jose (d. Stepanek), Dubai (d. Lopez) and Beijing (d. Sela).

In a match featuring 35 aces and no breaks of serve, Croatian No. 14 seed Ivo Karlovic knocked out last week’s Stockholm finalist Robin Soderling 7-6(7), 7-6(8) in 1 hr., 49 min. Karlovic, who leads the ATP circuit with 889 aces in 50 matches this season, was a quarterfinalist in Madrid in 2005 (d. No 3 Roddick; l. to Nalbandian).

Karlovic next will face third seed Novak Djokovic, who progressed when Victor Hanescu retired with the Serb leading 6-7(8), 7-6(6), 3-1. Djokovic, who admitted difficulty finding rhythm in his return game against Hanescu, said: "This way is a good boost-up for my upcoming match, it could serve as good preparation for tomorrow's opponent who has an even bigger serve and is an even taller guy."

The 21-year-old Djokovic, who has won three titles this season including the Australian Open (d. Tsonga), was a semifinalist in Madrid last year (l. to Nalbandian) and reached the quarterfinals on his debut in 2006 (l. to Gonzalez).