Rusedski lines up Federer in Montreal
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Your support makes all the difference.Greg Rusedski is gearing up for a second-round clash with the Wimbledon champion, Roger Federer, in the Masters Series event in Montreal.
The British No 2 beat Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti 7-5, 6-3 in the first round and will face Federer if the Swiss player can overcome Argentina's Gaston Gaudio, the world No 30, in his opening match.
Rusedski's big serve worked well as he broke Lapentti in the 11th game before serving out the set. The left-hander, playing in the city of his birth, quickly wrapped up the match in the second set.
Arnaud Clement caused the first upset of the tournament with a 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 victory over the fourth seed Carlos Moya in the opening round. On a day of rain delays, the world No 33 from France capitalised on a string of opportunistic volleys to contain his Spanish opponent's strength from the baseline and reach the last 32.
However, the top seed and world No 1 Andre Agassi was in no mood to suffer an upset as he eased to a 6-4, 6-2 win over Canada's Frederic Niemeyer, another wildcard.
"He certainly has a big serve and likes to take risks, but he gave away too many points today," Agassi said of the 27-year-old Niemeyer, the world No 241.
Agassi admitted that he needed to play stronger opponents as he stepped up his preparations for the US Open later this month. "I need a challenge and to experience some real pressure tennis," the 33-year-old American said.
In other first-round matches, the German eighth seed Rainer Shüttler cruised past Mikhail Youzhny, of Russia, 6-2, 6-4, while 11th-seeded Paradorn Srichaphan, of Thailand, overcame a second-set fightback to oust Spain's Alberto Martin 6-0, 7-6.
Argentina's Jose Acasuso rallied past Fabrice Santoro, of France, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 and Juan Ignacio Chela won an all-Argentine battle with Agustin Calleri 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
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