Federer exit opens up the Roman road for Henman

14 April 2012

Roger Federer's bid to win his first title on the clay courts of Rome ended when he lost his second-round clash to Spaniard Albert Costa 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The top seed's defeat, along with those of US Open champion Andy Roddick and third seed Rainer Schuettler in the opening round, has left British No1 Tim Henman as the highest-ranked player left in the Italian Masters.

Henman swept past Czech Radek Stepanek 6-1, 6-1 to reach the third round. He today comes up against Argentine Mariano Zabaleta, who defeated Spain's Felix Mantilla, the defending champion, in straight sets.

World No1 Federer, runner-up to Mantilla last year, cruised through the opening set but his game fell to pieces. "People are looking at this too dramatically. I think this would have been an open match on any surface," said Federer. Henman put on an impressive display against Stepanek and said: "I've definitely improved on clay in the last couple of years, and that's been evident in my results."

Russia's Nikolay Davydenko is one of the most dangerous men left in the draw after a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.

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