Top seeds through to 3rd round of 2008 Hamburg Masters

All three top seeds powered into the third round of the 2008 Hamburg Masters yesterday, with none requiring a third set to knock out their lower ranked opponents.

Roger Federer barely broke a sweat as he defeated Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-3 to move through to the next round. Meanwhile Novak Djokovic seemed equally comfortable as he hit 34 winners to send Juan Ignacio Chela packing 6-3, 6-1.

Rafael had to work hardest in his second round fixture as his opponent, Potito Starace, forced him into a tiebreak for the second set. It only took 6 points for Nadal to settle the tiebreak, winning the game 6-4, 7-6.

Andy Murray played well during the third round of the 2008 Hamburg Masters, knocking out fancied French opponent Gilles Simon 6-3, 6-3. “It’s a very good win,” said Murray. “He’s beaten a lot of top guys on clay.

Murray is now set to encounter Rafael Nadal in the third round of the 2008 Hamburg Masters, and will be fancying his chances of delivering Nadal his third career defeat on clay.

“Everyone keeps asking me why I can’t win any matches on clay, but I’ve had a couple of good wins this week and hopefully I can keep it going in my next match.”