AFP/Istanbul

World number two Roger Federer yesterday eased past fellow 33-year old, the Finn Jarkko Nieminen, with a dominant display to reach the quarter finals of the Istanbul Open.
Federer, showing flashes of brilliance mixed with occasional errors, closed out in just over an hour to win the second round match 6-2 7-5.
The 17-time Grand Slam winner was making his first appearance in Turkey at the Istanbul Open, the first ever ATP world tour event in the country.
Federer, who is seeded to meet world number 11 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the final, is hoping to use the clay court event to fine tune his bid for a second French Open title next month.  
He is looking for confidence on the slower clay, after a long hard court season, having lost in the third round on clay to Gael Monfils at the Monte Carlo Masters this month.
Federer raced through the first set in just 20 minutes, pulling out his full armoury of drop shots, cross court forehands and backhand winners against a clearly hesitant Nieminen, the world 71. A stunning drop shot from Federer that fell dead inside the service court broke Nieminen’s serve in the fifth game and left the crowd gasping.  
The crowd, who had braved heavy evening traffic to catch Federer play at the 8,000 capacity Garanti Koza arena on the outskirts of Istanbul, began to get behind the Finn to prolong the game. Nieminen showed greater confidence in the second set, holding his serve with ease and an over-relaxed Federer spraying the ball wide regularly.
The Federer forehand was responsible for a string of unforced errors, allowing Nieminen to hold serve without trouble.
But Federer, serving and volleying on occasion and delivering nine aces in the match, found his top gear at the close of the set. Piling pressure on the Nieminen second serve and using his trademark drive volley to great effect, Federer finally broke Nieminen to lead 6-5.
He then served out to love, finishing with a stunning backhand cross court that left Nieminen with arms and legs akimbo.
In tomorrow’s quarter finals, Federer will face Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain who overcame Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin in straight sets  Dimitrov meanwhile is due to start his campaign against Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan today. Fourth seed Santiago Giraldo of Colombia went through to the quarters with a tough 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 win against Andrey Rublev of Russia.

Lopez knocked out in Estoril opener
Spanish top seed Feliciano Lopez fell to a surprise 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 loss yesterday to Dutchman Robin Haase to exit on the clay of the Estoril Open in his opening match.
The world number 12 who was playing as a tournament top seed for the third time this season, went down in a shade over two hours, saving six of ten break points along the way.
“Tennis can be very sad sometimes,” said Lopez. “There will be days when you do all the right things and you lose anyway.
“I was very unlucky today. But I have to forget about this match and look ahead to the next week.”
Lopez had only himself to blame after twice dropping serve when on the verge of a potential win in straight sets into the quarter-finals of the re-launched tournament, now under German-Portuguese management and being played in a local tennis club instead of a larger stadium as before.
Lopez found himself in a second-set tiebreak with his serve-volley attack failing to fire. Haase, ranked 101 and without a quarter-final showing since Gstaad last July, held firm and began to take the initiative.
The Dutch player secured four set points but needed only one to level the match.
The damage done, Lopez seemed to fade, losing serve to start the third set. That was all the opening Haase needed, claiming the upset win on his first match point as Lopez drove a forehand long over the baseline. Haase awaits the winner from Australian seventh seed Nick Kyrgios and Serb Filip Krajinovic.
“Serving twice for the match, it’s not normal to lose like this,” said Lopez, “I should have closed it out, especially since I had a couple of match points (12th game of the second set).
“The match was close and I just couldn’t find a way to win in the end. I played great for two sets, I was aggressive and charging the net. Unfortunately, that was not enough today.”
Spaniard Nicolas Almagro advanced into the last eight as he knocked out fourth seed Leonardo Mayer of Argentina 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, with seven aces in his 89-minute win.
Spain’s third seed Tommy Robredo, losing finalist a decade ago, withdrew with a left foot injury, replaced by compatriot David Vega Hernandez.