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Bagdatis plays Federer..


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Its time for the Greek Cypriot to take it to the next level.. bagdatis is reanked 56 in the world..

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- Top-ranked Roger Federer needed two tiebreakers to beat Fabrice Santoro 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) Wednesday and reach the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open.

Federer, the reigning Qatar champion, will face Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus, who defeated eighth-seeded Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 3-6, 7-5.

In a match where neither player broke serve, Federer used his powerful serve to prevail in the tiebreakers.

"Fabrice is a totally different player from the other guys on the tour," Federer said. "No one plays the forehand chip these days. You have to play him with your mind rather than strength, and you sometimes tend to get caught in between."

Santoro, a two-time champion in Qatar, frustrated Federer by slowing down the tempo and relying on deft placement rather than power. But the Frenchman couldn't cope with his opponent's stronger shots.

Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and seventh-seeded Gael Monfils of France also advanced, while No. 8 Feliciano Lopez of Spain and 2002 champion Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco lost.

Federer had three break points on Santoro in the ninth game but couldn't close it out. He recovered in the tiebreaker, starting with an ace and down-the-line winner to open a 5-1 lead.

The Swiss star took a 4-1 lead in the second-set tiebreaker, but some uncharacteristic errors helped Santoro close to 6-5.

"The thing about Fabrice is that he covers the court so well," Federer said. "He is definitely not the fastest, but he plays with the most instinct and his coordination is much better than the faster players

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THree up for Federer three down.. Marcos gave it his best its the third time he has lost to the number 1.. Better luck next time..

Top seed and defending champion Roger Federer took 69 minutes to beat Marcos Baghdatis 6-4, 6-3 for the third time in as many career meetings to reach the semifinals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha. Federer dropped his serve for the second time in the tournament when leading 2-0 in the second set. Last year he won the Doha title without being broken.

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