August 16, 2012 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
World number one-ranked Roger Federer from Switzerland defeated Australia’s Bernard Tomic, 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday in Cincinnati to reach the 2012 Western & Southern Open quarterfinals. Federer dropped just 13 points on serve throughout and didn’t face a break point as he claimed victory in 62 minutes against the 49th-ranked Tomic. The 31-year-old Federer is chasing a fifth title at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, having previously triumphed in 2005 (defeating Andy Roddick), 2007 (defeating James Blake), 2009 (defeating Novak Djokovic) and 2010 (defeating Mardy Fish). In a repeat of the 2010 final, he will face Fish in Friday’s quarterfinals after Fish beat Radek Stepanek, 6-3, 6-3.
Federer is playing his first event since winning the Silver Medal at the London 2012 Olympics. Earlier in the season, Federer captured his 17th Grand Slam championship at Wimbledon (defeating Murray) and also lifted the trophies in Rotterdam (defeating del Potro), Dubai (defeating Murray), Indian Wells (defeating John Isner) and Madrid (defeating Thomas Berdych). He is bidding to win a record-equaling 21st ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown this week.
