Federer outclasses Dent in Stockholm

The Swiss player may have lost the world No. 1 spot to Rafael Nadal this season, but he is the pre-eminent competitor in Sweden - and he lived up to that status with a routine 6-1 6-2 triumph.

Federer has enjoyed an uncharacteristically lean year in 2010, winning just two titles, but he appears on the cusp of adding a third to his collection ahead of the ATP World Tour Finals in November.

The first set was almost embarrassingly one-sided, as Dent won a mere nine of the 34 points contested. The American's game relies heavily on his ferocious serve, but he was unable to find the box with enough regularity to put any pressure on Federer.

Dent was unable to fare much better in the second frame, although he did make more of a fight of it by taking two games.

Elsewhere, No. 4 seed Ivan Ljubicic powered into the third round by recording his tenth consecutive win over Arnaud Clement. In a battle of two veterans, Ljubicic's serve proved the difference between the players - he sent down 22 aces, and won 76% of the points on serve - as he triumphed 6-3 6-4.

Meanwhile, two-time winner James Blake made life hard for himself before eventually overcoming Matthias Bachinger in a protracted encounter. It has been a difficult year for Blake - he has won 15 and lost 15 - but he is hoping to recapture his best form at a venue that has been kind to him in the past. His 6-4 3-6 7-6(2) triumph puts him one step closer to an 11th career title, and a first of 2010.

Enlarge At the Kremlin Cup, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga admitted that a place in the ATP World Tour Finals was now "mission impossible" after he sank to a shock 3-6 6-3 7-5 defeat to Victor Troicki. "The difference is that I am not 100% yet [he has recently returned from injury] and he is too good a player if you are not at the top of your game," he said.

"It was a big match and a big tournament for me to do well. Now, [London] is a bit far for me as the players ahead of me are doing well. It is almost mission impossible."

No. 6 seed Andrey Golubev saved two match points before eventually sinking to a 6-4 7-5 defeat against Igor Kunitsyn. "I expected a tough match from Andrey," Kunitsyn said. "He is enjoying his best season and when he played his tennis today I had only to watch. The win in the first set boosted my confidence and I fought for every point in the second one."

No.7 seed Sergiy Stakhovsky also exited the tournament after losing 6-2 7-6(4) to Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Source: espn.co,uk