Federer rallies to see off Spaniard

ROGER Federer was two points from an embarrassing exit from the Monte Carlo Masters before rallying to beat Spanish qualifier Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo 6-1 3-6 7-6 to reach the third round.

The world number one was 5-4 and 30-15 down in the third set before his opponent, ranked 137th by the ATP, crumbled under the pressure.

Federer had already recovered from being 5-1 down after a string of unforced errors brought him to the brink of defeat.

He eventually won the tiebreak 7-1, wrapping it up after two hours and three minutes on his first match point when Ramirez Hidalgo sent a forehand wide.

Federer next meets Frenchman Gael Monfils, who beat Croatia's Ivo Karlovic 7-6, 6-1.

"I am happy to be through this difficult round," Federer said.

"I lost the rhythm and I needed a bit of luck to come back into the match."

Meanwhile, there was no scare for No. 5 seed David Ferrer, who eased past former world No.1 Marat Safin 6-2, 6-3 to set up a third-round encounter with Serb Janko Tipsarevic, a 5-7 7-6 6-4 winner over Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti.

Safin's compatriot Nikolay Davydenko, seeded at No.4, held off a late challenge by Italian Simone Bolelli to go through with a 6-2, 7-6 win.

"I practiced for two hours yesterday and I was OK," said Davydenko, who retired from last week's Estoril Open final against Federer with a leg injury.

"I have a physiotherapist who is giving me treatment here. My legs are okay."

On centre court, Federer started brightly, hitting 14 winners to take a one-sided first set in 31 minutes.

But Ramirez Hidalgo broke in the second game of the second set and opened up a 3-0 lead.

A nervous Federer then shrugged off two more break points but made 23 unforced errors and was trapped into a decider.

The Swiss dropped serve in the first game when he netted an easy volley and was 4-0 down after his opponent converted the second of his three break points.

Ramirez Hidalgo was caught out by the pressure and Federer rolled on despite having made 55 unforced errors.

Federer, who has not had a coach since splitting with Tony Roche in May, recently hired Spaniard Jose Higueras to improve his claycourt game.

Reuters