By James Waterson Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images
(August 18, 2011) Roger Federer advanced to the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open after he defeated James Blake 6-4, 6-1 Thursday.
Five years ago, these two players wouldn't have run into each other until the later stages of a tournament.
But since 2006, when they played four of their 10 previous matches, Blake's ranking has plummeted from the top 10 to No. 84, while Federer has remained at the top of the game (or close to it).
The difference in ability between the two men was apparent in their match Thursday.
Federer broke Blake in the first game of the match, and he went on to lose only three points on his serve the rest set.
The 16-time Grand Slam champion dropped his first service game of the second set, but he would break the American 4 times to seal the win in 57 minutes.
He moves on to face Tomas Berdych, the eighth seed. Earlier in the day, Berdych dismissed ninth-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-2, 6-2. Berdych hit 11 aces, won 75 percent of his service points, and broke Almagro four times to clinch the match.
Federer has a 9-3 record against Berdych. The last time they played was at the 2010 Rogers Cup, which Federer won in three sets. That year, Berdych beat Federer twice in a row: the first victory came at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, and the second was in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.