Roger Federer set for Berdych tie

Roger Federer edged on after escaping a tough test from fellow compatriot, Roberto Bautista Agut to qualify for the Miami Open quarter-finals on Tuesday, at a time when top-seeded Stan Wawrinka was shown the exit door on his birthday. Federer won the 7-6(5) 7-6(4) on his third match point, briefly after Wawrinka lost 4-6 6-2 6-1 to 16th-seeded German teenager Alexander Zverev. Bautista Agut put all he had into the match, striking the ball far with persistent accuracy with the aim of keeping Federer fixed to the extreme, pushing everything out on the 18-times grand slam champion. Federer was able to withstand the onslaught owing to his class which proved effective in the tiebreaks as he surged on to 6-0 against Bautista Agut. This has earned him a date with Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych. Wawrinka had already lost to Federer in the Indian Wells final nine days ago. The 32-year-old lost to Federer in the Indian Wells final and was also denied a place in the quarter final in Miami. 19-year-old Zverev was on top in the final two sets against Wawrinka, a day after he saved three match points against John Isner. He surged ahead twice in the second and three times in the third to emerge a quarter-final hopeful against Nick Kyrgios. “One bad game to start the second set and then it was tough for me,” Wawrinka said while speaking to reporters. “I completely went down physically and mentally, and also my tennis was completely out. I had no more gas.” Zverev was noted for his aggressive play after been beaten at the first set but the German player improved to a 2-0 against Wawrinka. “I had to be aggressive. I felt like he was the one controlling all the points all the time, so I had to change that. It worked out well for me,” Zverev remarked. The last eight match challenging the 12th seeded Australian bring the duo forward for the second time in 14 days, after Kyrgios clinched their former encounter in Indian Wells. Big-serving Kyrgios pose a threat as he charged up for the match without dropping serve in a 7-6(5) 6-3 win over Belgian eighth seed David Goffin Current standing has all the top seeds in competitive matches on Tuesday, including Japanese second seed Kei Nishikori who managed to three sets before removing Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-3 4-6 6-3. Fifth seed Rafa Nadal won in straight sets, yet had a deal of hard work to displace Frenchman Nicolas Mahut 6-4 7-6(4). Nadal has American Jack Sock to deal with in the next meet, while Nishikori meets Italian Fabio Fognini.